Trying to Pick Up the Pieces
by Ex-Shark-Virtue-005
Summary: How does Tieria deal with the occurrences after the disastrous Operation Fallen Angels? A long overdue season one aftermath. Not a Sumeragi/Tieria shipping.
1. Sickening Occurrences

Konnichiwa Minna-san! Like I said, I'm back with another Gundam 00 Fic! This is an aftermath of the first season, and I know, it's long overdue. But hey, good things come to those who wait. This will start at the end of episode twenty-three and end when I decide to end it and it will focus around Tieria but the other Meisters will be in it as well. And I guess it can be considered a prequel to Frozen Airspace. So I'll shut up now and let you get started.

Disclaimer: I, Ex-Shark-Virtue-005, do not own Gundam 00, or the characters, Veda's just granting me permission to have fun with them for the time being.

Happy Reading!

* * *

Chapter one: Sickening Occurrences

"_Lockon, Lockon…Lockon, Lockon…"_

Tieria's eyes snapped opened as the panicked Haro unit called out to his partner. He knew that the small robot's chant was not a good sign and the nausea that Tieria had been suffering from since Lockon had been injured worsened ten-fold. /No…/ He thought as he tried to keep his stomach's contents where they belonged just for a while longer, /No…it can't be…/ The tears started to well up in his eyes, /No…Lockon…/

"It can't be!" He cried.

"_Tieria, Allelujah, Setsuna, we're falling back for now." _Sumeragi called.

Tieria did not respond but he followed orders. He felt extremely sick and he needed to try to resist the urge to vomit until he got back to the Ptolemaios. As he made his way back to the Ptolemaios his sadness turned to rage, /This is Setsuna's fault/ he thought trying to distract himself from the sick feeling in his stomach, /If he didn't go to the surface, Lockon wouldn't have…/ He docked and as he left his Gundam, a sharp pain ripped through his left side and he felt his stomach contents surge to the back of his throat. He hurried out of the container and whipped off his helmet. He then went over to the nearest garbage compactor and threw up.

"Tieria!" Ian called as he hurried over to the boy, "Are you alright?"

Tieria shook his head as the coughing and dry-heaving caused pain to shoot through his side making he feel sicker.

Ian sighed, "You're still not feeling very well, are you?" he said as he rubbed Tieria's back and held the boy's purple hair away from his face as the boy's stomach rejected anything that was in it, "I don't blame you one bit kid. Go to your room and lie down for a bit, I'll head to the briefing room and tell Sumeragi that you were feeling sick again."

"No," Tieria finally muttered as he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, "I'll be alright. There's something I need to do."

"But Tieria," Ian said, "You really don't look so hot right now. You're sick, don't worry about it just go lie down until you're feeling better."

"I'll be alright," Tieria said as he straightened up, grabbed his helmet and walked from the room.

Ian sighed as he too walked from the room, "What are we going to do with that boy?"

* * *

When Tieria entered the briefing room Setsuna was already there, causing his rage as well as the nausea that he still felt to increase.

"You bastard!" He yelled as he slammed the smaller boy against the wall despite the pain in his side.

Setsuna allowed Tieria to slam him into the wall and he didn't bother fighting the other Meister. He knew that Tieria and Lockon were rather close and the Tieria had been against the idea of his return to the surface to confirm the information on the GN-X units. So he decided to take whatever the purple haired Meister did to him with a straight face. But as Setsuna looked the seething Meister in the eyes he noticed something, Tieria was unusually pale. Tieria had relatively fair skin but Tieria's face was extremely wan. Setsuna also took note of the dark circles under Tieria's uncharacteristically glossy and bloodshot garnet eyes. /He doesn't look well.../ Setsuna thought.

"Because you had to go down to the surface our forces were critically divided!" Tieria yelled. He could feel the tears welling up again as he ignored Ian's pleas to 'take it easy', "Answer me! Why did he have to die? Why did he…have-" Before he could finish the question he was being spun around then slapped in the face.

"Our enemy is still out there!" Sumeragi said sternly, "If you have time to cry and complain, you should be helping!"

Tieria sighed as the sick feeling began to increase again. He then walked towards the door clutching his stomach.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Sumeragi asked.

"To lie down for a while," Tieria said softly trying to suppress the tears, "I'm really not feeling well."

Sumeragi sighed. She knew that Tieria wasn't one to lie about how he felt, but they still had matters do discuss, "Tieria," She called as the boy left the room, "Come back here!"

"Just let him go Sumeragi," Ian said, "Tieria's not lying. He was throwing up a few minutes ago, so he must still be feeling really sick right now. I tried to get him to go lie down but he wouldn't have it."

/Thank you Ian/ Tieria thought as he moved his hand to his now throbbing side. The churning in his stomach was beginning to get worse and he walked over to the nearest trash compactor just to be safe.

"Tieria!" Tieria looked over and saw Allelujah approaching him, "Why aren't you in the briefing room?"

"I'm...going to be sick..." He murmured as he clamped his hand to his mouth and was sick again.

Allelujah hurried over to aid the smaller Meister, "Take it easy," He said as he pulled Tieria's hair from his face and rubbed his back. When Tieria was finished, Allelujah removed one of his gloves and placed his hand on the other Meister's forehead, "I think you're feverish Tieria. You feel kinda warm to me. Do you want me to escort you back to your room?"

"No," Tieria said as he pulled away from the taller Meister, "I'll be alright."

"Are you sure?" Allelujah asked as he steadied Tieria a bit, "You seem really sick, Tieria."

"I'll be alright," Tieria said as he turned away from Allelujah and walked off, "Hurry to the briefing room, Sumeragi's waiting."

Allelujah nodded then headed in the opposite direction. He sighed /I'm worried about him/ He thought, /He's been feeling sick since Lockon was injured, I hope he's okay/

_/Oi Allelujah I have a theory about why Tieria's feeling sick/_

/Hallelujah, leave Tieria alone, he's ill because he's upset/ Allelujah responded, /He's not used to the emotions he's feeling at the moment/

_/I don't think it's that/_ Hallelujah said, _/I think it's because Tieria's secretly a girl/_

/What!/ Allelujah exclaimed, /Where the hell did you come up with that one? Hallelujah you know that Tieria is male/

_/ How do you know?/ _Hallelujah asked, _/For all we know, he could really be a _she. _ Well, at least that's what I think. I mean why else would he wear pink and yellow all the time? I think the reason why Tieria's been feeling so sick lately is because he's secretly a girl and was knocked up by Lockon/_

/That has to be the most ridiculous thing you've ever come up with/ Allelujah responded, /Tieria, while he is rather feminine, is one hundred percent male therefore there is no way in hell that he can be pregnant/

_/Well we all have our theories about him and that's mine/ _Hallelujah said.

/Just drop it/ Allelujah said as he entered the briefing room.

_/Fine, have it your way/_

* * *

After Allelujah walked away Tieria took several steps then doubled over in pain. /I can't fight in this condition/ he thought as he clutched his side, /I have to do something about this…/ He leaned up against the wall for support then made his way up to the medical bay.

* * *

Joyce Moreno was rather surprised when a very pallid Tieria slowly walked into the medical room. Tieria almost _never _sought medical attention on his own. The few times that Joyce had seen Tieria for some type of medical treatment he had been accompanied be either Sumeragi or Lockon. If Tieria had come for medical treatment on his own, whatever was ailing the boy had to be rather severe.

"Tieria," he said, "What brings you here?"

"How long will it take for broken ribs to heal?" Tieria asked softly.

"Up to two weeks depending on the severity of the breaks," Joyce answered.

Tieria sighed, "I don't have that much time," He said as he placed his hand to his side and winced.

"Tieria," Joyce said as he noticed just how awful the boy looked, "Are you injured?"

"I think I might have broken a rib in the last battle," Tieria said.

"Take off the top of your flight suit," Joyce said, "And I'll check."

Tieria unzipped the top of his flight suit and winced as he slowly took it off. He then got on one of the medical beds. The capsule closed and the lasers scanned his upper body.

Joyce looked at the data that the computer was displaying, "Yep, you've got two fractured ribs," he said as something else caught his attention, "Tieria, are you feeling alright?" The computer was indicating that Tieria had been sick a few times and that he was feverish.

"No," Tieria muttered, "I'm not feeling well at all."

"I was just wondering because you have a fever," Joyce said, "It's not very high but it's still a fever."

"Allelujah told me that my forehead was warm," Tieria said, "But then again, his hands felt rather cold."

"Well, what do you want to do?" Joyce said as he brought up treatment options, "It would take about eight hours to complete treatment for the fever but it would take about five days for your ribs."

"I'll stay for eight hours," Tieria said, "I need to fight. I have to avenge Lockon. Please don't let Sumeragi know that I'm here. If she knows that I'm injured and ill, she won't let me fight."

Joyce nodded, "Alright," he said, "I'm beginning your treatment."

* * *

Sumeragi was both confused and worried. Tieria said that he was going to lie down for a while because he wasn't feeling well. At first she thought that Tieria was lying. Until Allelujah and Ian both said that Tieria had been sick and Allelujah even said that Tieria's forehead seemed warm to him. And yet the boy was not in his room or any of the other places the boy chose to hang out. /Is it possible that he went to the medical room?/ She thought. /I really hope he's not really sick, we need him to fight/

She headed to the sick bay and she found that Tieria was indeed there.

"Moreno-san," Sumeragi said, "What's he here for?"

"Fractured ribs and a slight fever," Joyce said, "The fever should be down when he leaves, it seems to be caused by severe stress. Based on the fractures it would take five days for his ribs to heal but…"

"He wants to fight…" Sumeragi finished. She knew that if Tieria sought medical attention, he was probably in no condition to sortie. /I don't like this, two damaged Gundams, one pilot dead and another pilot injured _and _ill. This is going to end in disaster/ she thought as she looked at Tieria, /He really shouldn't fight/

"What are you going to do Sumeragi?" Joyce asked.

"Let him fight," Sumeragi said, "What other choice do I have left? I don't want a repeat of what happened with Lockon earlier. And we absolutely cannot afford to be down another Meister." She then walked towards the door, "Let me know how he's feeling when he wakes."

* * *

Tieria slowly opened his eyes after the eight hours of medical treatment were over. He was relieved to find that nausea was gone and he no longer felt feverish. He made an attempt to sit up but a sharp pain in his left side stopped him.

"Don't sit up just yet," Joyce said, "I'm running a quick follow up." After a few minutes the capsule opened, "Sit up slowly," he advised, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling better," Tieria said as he replaced the top of his flight suit and stood up.

"Take it easy Tieria," Joyce said, "The treatment barely did anything for you ribs meaning that it will be very easy to injure them more. Please, be careful."

"Thank you," Tieria said as he walked out of the medical room.

Joyce sighed and contacted Sumeragi.

"_Moreno-san, how is he doing?"_

"His fever is down," Joyce said, "And he said that he was feeling better but it's hard to tell with him. I've heard him say that he was fine on the verge of collapse before. According to the computer he's clear to pilot but if our situation was different I would bar him from piloting for a few days."

_"I know," _Sumeragi said, _"I would too but what can we do in this situation? We're already down a pilot and with the Federation still in the surrounding airspace we can't be down to only two Gundams."_

"I understand that," Joyce said, "That's why I haven't implemented the medical block on his Gundam even though I really don't think he should be piloting in his condition. Monitor him closely if he absolutely has to sortie."

"_I will," _Sumeragi said, "_Thank you Moreno-san."_

* * *

On his way back to his room Tieria stopped at the nearest communicator and paged Sumeragi.

"_Tieria," _

"Sumeragi Li Noriega," he said, "When it's ready, please present us with you next mission plan."

"_Do you really intend to fight?"_ Sumeragi asked.

"Of course I do," Tieria responded, "We can show the world our strength if we are able to destroy the rest of units with false GN-Drives. Then we can continue the plan."

Sumeragi sighed she knew that this was going to happen, "_The risk is too great,"_ She said, _"And there is a possibility that reinforcements will come as well." _ She knew it was pointless to try and divert the boy's attention from the plan but she was still going to try anyway.

"I understand that," Tieria said, "However this is not my opinion alone, it is the consensus of all the Meisters."

"_Setsuna and Allelujah, too?"_ Sumeragi asked. /He left the medical room not even ten minutes ago/ She though, /Has he already talked to Allelujah and Setsuna?/

"Please," Tieria said as he closed the link. The medication from the capsule was still making him drowsy and he figured that if he slept a bit more he would be alright to sortie.

* * *

Sumeragi sighed /He's still so pale/ She thought, /He still looks awful and he shouldn't sortie. I wouldn't be so worried if he was going to be piloting the Virtue, but he has to sortie with the Nadleeh. Nadleeh was never really tested in combat there were too many risks and the TRIAL system has been deactivated/ She sighed, /This may not end well for him…/

"Tieria…"

* * *

Setsuna stood outside of Tieria's room with a small bowl of rice and a water bottle. He knew that there was a good possibility that Tieria was still feeling sick and that the purple haired Meister would only yell at him again. But it was a chance that Setsuna was willing to take. He pressed the page button on the door and when there was no response, he let himself in. He found that Tieria was asleep. As he approached the bed he noticed that the dark circles that had been present beneath Tieria's eyes were gone and there was more color to Tieria's face.

/He looks better/ Setsuna thought, /I hope he's feeling well enough to fight. But then again, it's Tieria Erde, he'll be alright/

He then set the tray down on the desk and sat down. He was willing to wait until Tieria woke up and that was what he was going to do.

* * *

So what did you think? I know it's way late but every time I watch the last few episodes of season one I get ideas so I decided to get them on paper, well sorta... Oh well. Let me know what you thought! Until next time minna-san!

_Ex-Shark-V-005_


	2. Failed Dissuasions

Konnichiwa Minna-san! Wow I got that done fast…too fast actually. But whatever, I don't really have much to say about this aside from enjoy! I kept it short and sweet this time.

Disclaimer: I, Ex-Shark-Virtue-005, do not own Gundam 00, or the characters, Veda's just granting me permission to have fun with them for the time being.

Happy Reading

* * *

Chapter two: Failed Dissuasions

Setsuna waited a good six to seven hours for Tieria to wake up. Tieria stirred a bit, opened his eyes but then he just remained there staring at the ceiling.

"Tieria Erde…"

Tieria looked over at Setsuna but did not sit up, "Setsuna…" he muttered groggily, "What are you doing here?"

Feeling as though he probably shouldn't have come, Setsuna stood up and headed for the door.

"Setsuna wait,"

The younger boy turned, "What is it?"

"I'm sorry Setsuna," Tieria said softly, "I wasn't feeling well and I let my emotions control me." Tieria slowly sat up and winced as his side began to throb. He placed his hand to his side and bit his lip.

Setsuna walked up to the bed, "Are you alright?" He asked, "What's wrong?"

"I fractured two ribs in the last battle," Tieria said as the pain receded a bit, "I don't think I can do it anymore Setsuna. I've got nothing left to fight for. I've lost everything, Lockon, Veda…I'm not fit to be a Meister anymore."

"You're wrong," Setsuna said causing Tieria to look up, "You are fit to be a Meister Tieria Erde. We'd be unable to continue the plan if we were down another Meister. We need you to fight."

"Thank you Setsuna," Tieria muttered.

"Ian and Allelujah said that your stomach was sick," Setsuna said as he handed Tieria a small tray of rice, "But in case you're feeling better, I brought you some food."

Tieria took the tray. He wasn't feeling nauseous anymore but he really didn't feel like eating. Although he figured he should try to eat a little something. He took a few small bites of the rice, which he found to be completely unappetizing and he hoped that it wouldn't make him sick again.

* * *

Sumeragi was thoroughly annoyed. Setsuna had disappeared and she really needed to talk to him. Why did her remaining pilots seem to disappear without a trace when she needed to talk with them? //First Tieria now Setsuna?// Sumeragi thought, //What the hell is going on here?// She sighed as she passed Tieria's room. She figured that she would check up on Tieria then try to find Setsuna again. Just incase Tieria was asleep, She punched her access code in on the keypad near the door and what she saw when the door opened surprised her. Tieria was sitting up in bed picking at a small tray of rice while Setsuna sat at the desk just watching the other boy in complete silence.

"There you are Setsuna," Sumeragi said, "I've been looking all over for you."

"Sumeragi," Setsuna said, "What it is?"

"I need you to head to the containers for a bit," She said, "Just to help Ian with any last minute adjustments."

"Ryokai," Setsuna said he then turned to Tieria, "Don't die in vain, Tieria Erde."

Tieria nodded as Sumeragi sat down on the edge of his bed and he went back to picking at his food.

"Are you feeling alright Tieria?" Sumeragi asked.

"I'm alright," Tieria said as he abandoned his food.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sumeragi asked. Tieria shook his head and Sumeragi sighed. It was difficult enough to get Tieria to talk on a normal day so getting him to talk today was going to be near impossible, "Is your stomach still bothering you?" She asked. Tieria shrugged. Sumeragi then placed her hand to Tieria's forehead. The boy's forehead was cool; however there was a faint hint of an unusual warmth to Tieria's skin, "Allelujah said that you were feeling a bit warm earlier but if you had a fever it seems to be down."

Tieria sighed, "I went to Moreno-san," He said. He just couldn't stand keeping it a secret anymore. He hated lying, especially to Sumeragi, "I underwent about eight hours of medical treatment."

"I know," Sumeragi said, "I came to check on you and you weren't here so I went to the observation deck and then to the medical room. Moreno-san told me everything. And Tieria, I'm really questioning whether or not you're well enough to sortie."

Tieria sighed. This was the precise reason why he didn't want Sumeragi to know that he had been ill earlier. "I'm feeling alright," He said.

"You certainly don't look alright," Sumeragi said, "I don't want you to sortie if you're feeling sick, Tieria."

"I need to fight," Tieria said, "We can't win with only two Gundams."

"But I can't tell you if you should fight or not," Sumeragi said as she placed her hand on Tieria's shoulder, "You need to make that decision. Only you know if you truly are well enough to fight or not. But please keep in mind that you'll be piloting the Nadleeh, Virtue's armor was damaged beyond what we had time to repair."

Sumeragi then left the room leaving Tieria lost in thought.

* * *

Allelujah stood in one of the observation decks overlooking the Kyrios. //I wonder if Tieria's feeling any better// he thought.

_//I highly doubt it//_ Hallelujah answered, _//It will be at the most, nine months before Tieria feels better//_

//Will you cut that out!?// Allelujah said, //That is _not_ the reason why Tieria is feeling sick!//

_//Whatever you say Allelujah, whatever you say// _Hallelujah said, //_Just don't be surprised when we get a new little addition to our wonderfully screwed-up dysfunctional family in the next several months//_

//I seriously don't know what I am going to do with you// Allelujah said as the door opened and Tieria walked in the room, //Enough of this now//

"How are the repairs to the Nadleeh?" He asked as he ignored Hallelujah's rude remarks.

"They're done," Tieria answered as he stood next to Allelujah.

"But will it be alright without the TRIAL system and Nadleeh's low particle storage…"

"It will be fine," Tieria said suddenly, "I have to do this."

"It would be best if you didn't get so worked up," Allelujah said.

"I can't do that," Tieria said, "I need to avenge Lockon."

Allelujah sighed as he looked at Tieria. He wasn't as pale and he didn't look as sick as he had earlier but Allelujah could tell that Tieria probably wasn't feeling the best. "Are you feeling better?" he asked as he removed his glove and placed his hand on Tieria's forehead, "You're not as warm as you were earlier, but you're still a bit warm."

"I'll be alright," Tieria said without diverting his vision away from the window.

"If you're still not feeling very well you really shouldn't sortie," Allelujah said, "I know you're probably still upset over what happened but please don't do something stupid and get yourself killed needlessly."

Before Tieria had the chance to respond the alarm went off //All crew members are to report to their stations//

Tieria went to turn for the door. And before he had the chance to walk towards it he felt something click in his left side and he sank to his knees in pain.

"Tieria!" Allelujah cried as he knelt next to the other Meister, "Tieria what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Tieria gasped as he clutched his left side, "I just…moved the wrong…way."

"Well, whatever nothing is, it seems to have you in a lot of pain. Do you seriously expect to be able to fight in such a condition?"

"I have…to avenge…Lockon…" Tieria gasped.

"Ugh, you and Allelujah make me sick!" Tieria looked up and saw that the taller Meister's silver eye had been covered up revealing a gold one, "I Have half a mind to kick you in the side right now and knock you out but then Allelujah would friggin' annoy the hell out of my with his bitching if I did."

Tieria then double over again. The pain was almost too much, //It hurts…// He thought, //It hurts so much…Lockon…//

"Tieria! What did Hallelujah do to you?"

"Nothing," Tieria said as the pain began to recede a bit, "Two of my ribs were broken in the last fight."

"You really should rest then," Allelujah said as he carefully helped Tieria stand, "We don't need to lose another Meister."

"I'll be alright," Tieria said as he leaned against Allelujah. The pain had died down to a dull throb, "Just give me a minute."

"Tieria, I really don't like the situation you're in," Allelujah said, "It's bad enough that the Virtue's armor was broken and you have to sortie in the Nadleeh. But you're going out with two broken ribs and a slight fever as well? Tieria think about the massive risks you're taking going out in your condition." Allelujah sighed as Tieria pulled away from him, "Your ability to fight will be severely hindered."

"I understand the risks I am taking heading out in this condition," Tieria said, "However if we want to fulfill the plan, I need to fight. We're already down one Meister and we cannot take on the world with only two Gundams."

"Please, come back alive Tieria," Allelujah called.

"You as well," Tieria said as he left the room.

//I don't want him to fight// Allelujah thought as he headed to his own Gundam.

//_Well, our stubborn little _friend _over there has quantum brainwaves//_ Hallelujah said.

"Really?" Allelujah asked, "How come Tieria's quantum brainwaves never bothered me then?"

_//Tieria is a different kind of genetically screwed-up human//_ Hallelujah said, //_There's no way in hell someone as pathetic as Tieria could be a Super Soldier. But as I was saying Tieria has quantum brainwaves and there are two things we can do. We can give him a headache so bad he can't see straight even with that modified helmet visor he has//_

"Don't do that," Allelujah said, "Tieria's right, the three of us need to fight."

//_Or we can check up on him every so often without t his knowledge// _Hallelujah said.

"Let's do that," Allelujah said, "But you're sure Tieria won't realize what we're doing?"

//_I don't think Tieria even knows he has quantum brainwaves// _Hallelujah said, //_He won't suspect a thing, he's not smart enough to//_

"Whatever," Allelujah said, "Let's get going."

* * *

Tieria floated up to the Nadleeh and placed his hand on the Gundam's face, "Help me, please," He said softly as tears came to his eyes again, "I can't do it on my own, I'm just not strong enough to do it on my own…so please, give me strength…"

"Tieria!" Ian called.

"Ian Vashti," Tieria said as he turned away from his Gundam.

"How are you feeling kid?" Ian said, "Well, you're looking a lot better than you did earlier."

"I spent most of the past sixteen hour sleeping," Tieria said, "I'm feeling a lot better."

"That's good," Ian said, "Because I'll have you know if you get sick in the cockpit of your Gundam, you'll be the one to clean it up."

"I understand," Tieria said, "But I can assure you that I am not going to be sick again."

"That's good," Ian called as Tieria got into his Gundam, "Oh and, you had better come back alive, Tieria Erde!"

"I will Ian!" Tieria called as the cockpit closed. //At least I'll try to return alive//

_//Kyrios and Nadleeh will make an emergency launch directly from the containers//_

"Ryokai!" Tieria said the container opened and he mentally prepared himself for the painful battle ahead.

* * *

So two people tried to convince Tieria to rest, but it's Tieria, he's not going to divert his attention from the plan anytime soon. The next chapter will be kept in cannon and it'll probably be the last chapter to do so. I managed to keep two notes and even the chapter relatively short (like me, I'm not very tall) for your convenience. So let me know what you thought. Until next time Minna-san!

_Ex-Shark-V-005_


	3. Losing Touch

Konnichiwa Minna-san! I'm back and this is my first of hopefully many updates during my winter vacation. I was able to survive the semester and I couldn't be happier. This is another short chapter but I came up with a really awesome line and I couldn't bring myself to continue with the chapter after said line. So after the oh so _wonderful _little disclaimer you can get started.

Disclaimer: I, Ex-Shark-Virtue-005, do not own Gundam 00, or the characters, Veda's just granting me permission to have fun with them for the time being.

Happy Reading

* * *

Chapter Three: Losing Touch

Tieria was quite grateful for the emergency launch form the container. Every little movement caused a stabbing pain to shoot through his side and he was certain that if he had been launching from the linear catapult the pain would have overwhelmed him. He was tempted to do something about the pain however, his body, for whatever reason rejected all types of pain medication. He knew that administering a pain killer would make him extremely sick, and he needed to fight.

He spotted a group of GN-X units splitting around one of the asteroids.

//Tieria don't push yourself// Sumeragi called, //I'm not going to give you any specific orders. You're weak, I only want you to do what you feel your body can handle. Please, I don't need to lose another pilot//

"I understand," Tieria said as he headed towards the smaller group of GN-X units, "But I am sorry Sumeragi Li Noriega. I have to fight with everything I have. I must avenge Lockon's death."

//Tieria…// Sumeragi gasped, //Please, you're not well//

"I'm sorry." Tieria said as he cut the communications line, "But I need to fight with every gram of strength I have left…even if it kills me in the process, I _will _avenge Lockon."

He then brought the Nadleeh close to the asteroid then attacked the first two GN-X units he came into contact with, destroying the first one he shot at, damaging the second.

"I won't let you get any further!" He called as the GN-X he had taken off guard started attacking.

Nadleeh's shield deflected the shots however the shockwaves from each shot caused him more pain.

//You fight half-naked?// One of the enemies called as Tieria was forced to retreat.

Tieria grimaced. There was no way that he could win against five GN-X units, Nadleeh just didn't have enough firepower. "It's still too early to use Trans-Am…" he muttered as he deflected more shots.

* * *

Allelujah sighed. He was forced to watch the battle as Hallelujah fought meaning he was left to monitor Tieria. He had a feeling that Tieria wasn't doing well. The strength of the boy's quantum brainwaves kept fluctuating. "Hallelujah, what does this mean?" He asked, "Tieria's brainwaves…"

//He's weak// Hallelujah said, //And I don't just mean that he's going to pass out in a bit either. He's pushing his body to the absolute limit. I hate to say it, but I don't think Tieria's gonna survive this battle//

Allelujah sighed, "We need to help him…"

//We can't Allelujah// Hallelujah said, //There are too many enemies after us. Now shut the hell up and let me concentrate on the battle//

Before Allelujah could respond Kyrios was hit from behind by a broken piece of an asteroid as a massive particle beam just barely missed him.

"Dammit you filthy bastards!" Hallelujah yelled.

* * *

Tieria watched as the massive particle beam connected with the Ptolemaios. "It hit the Ptolemaios…" He gasped. //Dammit!// the thought as he gritted his teeth and turned towards the GN-X units and began firing at them hoping that he could hit one of them. He wasn't really used to using such a small particle beam to attack so he knew that his accuracy rate was going to be way off. //I have to use Trans-Am// He thought, //It's the only way…//

He pushed the throttle on the Nadleeh to full. He didn't care about the pain anymore, he just couldn't let the enemy win. "How dare you!" He yelled "Trans-Am!"

The Trans-Am System with Nadleeh was completely different that the Trans-Am with Virtue. Virtue's firepower had tripled with when Trans-Am was activated but with Nadleeh, the Gundam's speed became three times greater.

On each of the GN-X units he aimed for the center of the mobile suit. His intent was to destroy the pseudo GN-Drive and kill the pilot, crippling the mobiles suits was not an option he wanted to leave no traces of them.

"Nadleeh," He yelled as he sliced an enemy in two with a beam saber, "Ready to destroy…!" Before he could destroy the two remaining GN-X units a high velocity heat signature appeared on the screen, and he was directly in its path, "Nani…!?" He attempted to get out of the way but the particle beam was too fast and he got caught in it, knocking away his shield, beam saber and taking the lower portion of the Nadleeh's left leg.

He screamed as the shockwaves from the massive beam flung his body back against the seat causing him to hit his head hard on the back of the seat. He may have had a helmet on, however it did nothing to prevent the hit from sending an almost blinding pain through his head. And worse still he could have sworn he felt several ribs on his right side break. He struggled to pull himself back into a normal sitting position in hope of recovering from the attack but with his body and Gundam in the condition that they were in, he just wasn't quick enough.

He struggled to turn the Gundam and as soon as he did, a beam hit the right side of Nadleeh's head destroying half of its cameras and sensors in the process. Then another particle beam hit the back of the Gundam barely missing the GN-Drive. Tieria cried out as the shockwaves caused paralyzing pain to shoot through his head and body. He was getting hit so much that he couldn't keep track of what limbs were being blown off the Nadleeh, one by one. He knew that it was over and that there was nothing more he could do. Every single alarm in the cockpit was going off as the bombardment continued.

"Not yet…" He muttered as he tried to keep himself from passing out just for a few more minutes, "I can't die yet…for the sake of our plan…and…for Lockon's sake as well!" He then fired blindly at the two remaining GN-X units as one of the units shot at him.

One shot hit the center of the further GN-X unit, destroying it and the other shot hit and severely damaged the closer one. However, he never saw the shots hit, he never even saw the shot that knocked the Nadleeh's head right off, the adrenaline that had been keeping him conscious had finally run its course and he passed out, leaving the Nadleeh to drift aimlessly around the area.

* * *

Allelujah, who had been dozing off as Hallelujah fought, snapped to attention as he felt Tieria's weakening quantum brainwaves disappear completely. //Oh god…Tieria…//

"Hallelujah!" He cried out.

//This had better be good Allelujah// Hallelujah said.

"It's Tieria…" Allelujah gasped, "I…I can't…I can't feel him anymore…"

Hallelujah was silent for a moment, //You're right// He said, //Sorry Allelujah, but Tieria's probably dead//

"What…!?" Allelujah gasped, "Tieria's…dead…?"

//Or very close to death and dying// Hallelujah said.

Allelujah gasped and tried to take over control.

//Allelujah what the hell are you trying to do!?// Hallelujah yelled, //Do you want to get us killed as well?//

"Call him Hallelujah!" Allelujah cried, "Call Tieria!"

Hallelujah sighed, //What part of he's dead or dying don't you get!?// he yelled, //Look, when a person has quantum brainwaves they can be felt by another person with quantum brainwaves at all times. Whether that person is awake, asleep, or unconscious their quantum brainwaves can be felt. The only time a person's quantum brainwaves will disappear like that is if they've died. And right now Tieria's quantum brainwaves are gone, okay, completely gone. It's hopeless Allelujah//

"But there may still be some chance that he's alive," Allelujah said.

//Quantum brainwaves just don't disappear Allelujah// Hallelujah said, //They aren't something that can be turned off. With super soldiers and even with whatever the hell Tieria was, quantum brainwaves are their _normal _brainwaves. So, no quantum brainwaves detected, no brain activity therefore, Tieria's either dead or brain-dead and dying//

"That can't be…" Allelujah gasped. He didn't want to believe that Tieria was dead he just didn't. There was something that told him that Tieria was still alive, extremely weak and probably badly injured but alive. But Hallelujah told him made sense and it made him want to cry. "Not Tieria too…"

//Sorry but it is// Hallelujah said, //Now shut the hell up and go back to where you belong//

* * *

Sumeragi sighed as she glanced at the fallen Ptolemaios. "Feldt," She said, "Give me the statuses of the Meisters."

"Nadleeh is badly damaged," Feldt said softly, "And there's no response from Tieria."

Ian gasped. It was extremely unlike Tieria to not respond to their calls, "What!?" He asked.

"Kyrios has serious body damage," Feldt continued, "It is being pursued by two GN-X units."

Sumeragi frowned. She didn't like the situation that her pilots were in. Tieria wasn't responding to their calls and Allelujah wasn't in a favorable situation as well. "Come on guys…" She muttered, "Feldt, you said there's no response from Tieria, is it possible that there's an error in the Nadleeh's communications line?"

Feldt sighed, "The line is open Sumeragi," She said, "However Tieria must have disabled the video capabilities because it says audio only."

"I was afraid of that," Sumeragi said softly. //Why the hell did I let Tieria fight?// She thought, //He was in no condition to head out…please Tieria be alive when we find you…//

* * *

Setsuna sighed as he tried to get a response from Lasse. He wondered how everyone else was doing. He was the furthest from the rest of the Meisters. He was just about to contact Sumeragi when a panicked Allelujah contacted him first.

"Setsuna!" Allelujah called.

"Allelujah, what is it?" Setsuna asked.

//It's Tieria// Allelujah said, //I think he's dead!//

"What!?" Setsuna gasped, "Tieria Erde…dead…?"

//I've been monitoring him using quantum brainwaves and I can't feel him at all anymore// Allelujah said, //And Hallelujah said that there's a good possibility that Tieria's dead. What are we going to do Setsuna? That's two comrades we've lost!//

"Allelujah listen to me!" Setsuna yelled. He had been trying to get through to Allelujah for a while now. "Tieria Erde isn't dead! It's Tieria, he won't go down that easily! Calm down and concentrate on the battle, don't worry about Tieria, he's a lot stronger than he looks."

Allelujah sighed //Thank you Setsuna//

Setsuna sighed. Tieria may have had a fragile look to him but he was a far cry from weak. Tieria was soft-spoken and much smaller that the older two Meisters were but what Tieria lacked in size he made up for in determination and drive. And Setsuna knew that as long as their plan was in motion Tieria wasn't going to just let himself die.

//He'll be alright// Setsuna thought, //It's Tieria…//

* * *

It started out as a soft buzzing, almost inaudible but then it became louder and louder until he realized that every single alarm was going off in the cockpit. He looked up and as soon as he did his breath caught in his chest as a throbbing, stabbing pain shot through his side. He gasped as he placed his left hand to his right side, he pain was unlike anything he had ever felt before in his life.

//This isn't the end…// He thought as he tried to pull his head up, "Our plan is still in motion…" He grimaced as the pain intensified. He turned to one of the still operational monitors and saw a bright light approaching his position. He gasped for breath a bit, the pain was making it extremely painful and difficult to breathe, "I have to save the solar reactor…"

He gasped again tried to remember the button combination to eject the GN-Drive bit for some reason he couldn't remember it. Ejecting the solar reactor had been the first thing he had learned to do with the Gundam and he could probably do it in his sleep, so why was he having so much trouble with it? It didn't help that the center consol refused to stay in focus which was probably due to the pounding in his head.

When he finally got the right combination he felt the pain ebbing away and his vision dimming further. //At least now it can live on// he thought as he gasped for breath. "And now I can go to where you have gone," He whispered, "Lockon…" His mind then went blank and his body went limp as he lost consciousness.

// Lockon…is this what it feels like…to die…?//

* * *

What an ending... it gives me chills. Ooh Tieria cut the communications line on Sumeragi, he's probably going to get yelled at for that…eventually, Tieria's not doing so well right now. And what's up with Hallelujah? He's being so serious…*shudder* it's so odd. And about the last line, I had to. It fits so well in that situation, don't you think? Well until next time minna-san!

_Ex-Shark-V-005_


	4. Trying to Save a Life

Konnichiwa Minna-san! Yay new chapter! There's not much for me to say about this besides it picks up just about where the first season ends. So ignore the disclaimer and get started!

Disclaimer: I, Ex-Shark-Virtue-005, do not own Gundam 00, or the characters, Veda's just granting me permission to have fun with them for the time being.

Happy Reading

* * *

Chapter Four: Trying to Save a Life

Feldt was trying to get an updated status on the Meisters when a small blip on the monitor caught her attention.

"Nadleeh…ejected its GN-Drive," Feldt gasped.

Sumeragi gasped, "Tieria…" She muttered, "Feldt try to contact him!"

"H-Hai," Feldt responded, "Tieria…Tieria please respond! Tieria Erde!" She paused and bit her lip as the sound of harsh breathing could be heard from the other end of the line. "Tieria…"

"_Lock…on…" _Then the heavy breathing eased.

"Tieria!" Feldt cried.

"Should I set course for Nadleeh?" Ian asked.

"Allelujah's closer," Sumeragi said, "We'll retrieve Kyrios first."

"_Sumeragi-san…"_

"Allelujah!" Sumeragi cried, "Stay where you are, we're coming to get you."

"_Don't worry about me," _Allelujah said, _"Go after Tieria, I don't think he's doing very well. I've been monitoring him using quantum brainwaves but…I can't locate him in that way anymore…I have a feeling that he's been badly injured"_

"Allelujah…"

"_There's a group coming after me. Hurry to Tieria…make sure he lives…"_

The transmission then cut out and Allelujah ejected the GN-Drive from Kyrios.

"Ian set course for the Nadleeh," Sumeragi said, "Full speed please."

"We're running out of particles," Ian said.

"Did you link Dynames' GN-Drive to the container?" Sumeragi asked.

"I didn't have time," Ian said.

"Go do it!" Sumeragi ordered, "We need to get to Tieria!"

"Alright, Alright," Ian said as Sumeragi took over and he left the bridge.

Sumeragi sighed. She knew that Allelujah was alive and conscious. He might have been in the hand of the enemy but at least he was alive. But it was Tieria she was worried about. It seemed as though everything about that boy was a complete mystery including whether or not he was alive or not.

"Feldt bring up any and all stats you have on Nadleeh," She said hoping that the system was still able to take a life reading.

Feldt sighed, "Nadleeh's taken serious damage," She said, "Weak signs of life detected."

Sumeragi sighed. Weak signs of life detected, that meant that Tieria was alive, but how much longer would he stay alive?

"How long until we have visuals?" Sumeragi asked.

"One twenty," Feldt said.

Sumeragi sighed again. She hoped that Tieria wasn't too severely injured because while the assault container had a life support system, it could only do so much.

"Visuals of GN-004 Gundam Nadleeh confirmed," Feldt said, "Putting it on the monitor."

Sumeragi gasped as the image of the almost unrecognizable Gundam came up. "Feldt get the life support system online," I'm going to go help Ian."

Feldt nodded and did what she was told to do.

* * *

Sumeragi and Ian struggled to get the crippled Gundam in the container. With the pilot unconscious and no GN-Drive to power the Gundam, they had to rely on the weak tractor beam that the container possessed.

"This would have never worked with the Virtue," Ian said as he secured the remains of the Gundam and opened the cockpit, "Tieria…?"

Sumeragi's stomach dropped when she saw Tieria's limp form hanging in the cockpit. She hurried to pull the boy from the wreckage. Then for one agonizingly painful and terrorizing moment she thought that they had been too late and that Tieria was dead. Until she felt the irregular and shallow rise and fall of his chest against her chest and felt his weak pulse against her hand. She sighed in relief as she tried to support the boy's limp form.

"Feldt is the life support system online?"

"_Hai," _Feldt said, _"Is Tieria alright?"_

"He's alive but I don't know the extent of his injuries," Sumeragi said, "I need you to set course for Lagrange Three."

"_Ryokai,"_ Feldt said.

Sumeragi sighed. She seriously hoped that they could get Tieria the medical attention that he needed before his injuries killed him.

* * *

Feldt sighed. Based on Sumeragi's tone she had a feeling that Tieria was probably really bad off. She set course for Lagrange three and as soon as she finished Sumeragi walked back in.

"Feldt, I need you to monitor him," She said as she set Tieria down on the small cot that was in the bridge, "I'll take over piloting."

Feldt nodded and went over to Tieria. She removed his helmet and carefully removed the top of his flight suit revealing a skin-tight navy blue short-sleeved shirt. She saw that Tieria was very pale, his vivid purple hair was soaked with sweat and she could also see that while his body was limp he appeared to be leaning to his right side.

Feldt placed an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose and the life support system's bracelet-like scanner on his right wrist.

"How is he?" Sumeragi said as Feldt placed a cold damp cloth on Tieria's forehead.

"It's not good," Feldt said as Tieria's stats came up on the screen, "He's got severe damage to his ribcage and right lung, broken right arm and a concussion."

"Monitor him," Sumeragi said as she pushed the speed up to maximum. //I don't like this// She thought, //He's too severely injured for our life-support system to handle his condition for very long. We have to hurry…//

Feldt nodded as she began setting an IV in his left arm. When she was finished she held his hand in hers and shut her eyes, "Please hold on, Tieria…" Then a few minutes later she nearly jumped out of her skin when Tieria's cold limp hand suddenly stiffened and grasped at hers. "Tieria!"

"Lockon…" He whispered as vacant garnet eyes opened.

"No Tieria," Feldt said, "It's me Feldt…Feldt Grace." She could tell that Tieria had a concussion. His normally sharp, vivid garnet eyes were dull and vacant and his pupils were enlarged.

"Feldt…Grace…?" Tieria asked almost as if he couldn't recall who she was, "Where's…Lockon…?"

She gasped, "You know where he is Tieria," She said as she tried to keep herself from crying, "Don't make me say it…"

"Oh…" Tieria whispered as the monitor started beeping, "I see…" His breathing worsened and the emptiness to his eyes deepened, "Lock…on…"

"Tieria stop!" Feldt cried as she took his hand again, "Please…I don't want you to leave as well…I don't want…to lose another brother…"

"Feldt…Grace…" Tieria mumbled as he breathing improved just a bit and the emptiness in his eyes receded. He gasped in pain, "I'm sorry…it…hurts…" His eyes then closed as he lost consciousness.

Neither Feldt nor Sumeragi spoke for a while, "We need to hurry," Sumeragi said as Feldt cried, "He may not hold on for much longer."

"_Sumeragi," _Ian called, _"I got the mission recorder from the Nadleeh and it doesn't look good. I swear he's not getting anything smaller than the Virtue when we rebuild the Gundams."_

"Rebuild the Gundams…" Sumeragi gasped, "What do you mean by rebuild the Gundams?"

"_Of course," _Ian said, _"I can almost guarantee that when the kid's feeling better the first thing out of his mouth is going to be 'are we rebuilding the Gundams?'"_

"Wars will continue Sumeragi," Feldt said, "This battle did nothing to stop it."

"Just send the mission recorder," Sumeragi said, "Feldt, how is he doing?"

"His stats aren't stabilizing," She said, "They're rising and falling sporadically."

Sumeragi sighed, "We don't have the life-support system he needs," She said, "Do the best you can to stabilize him." She bit her lip, //Dammit// She thought, //Why did I have to let him fight in such a condition?// She then opened the mission recorder.

Both Feldt and Sumeragi gasped. Tieria was fighting in a manner that they had never seen from him.

//It's almost as if he wasn't injured…//Sumeragi thought as she watched the boy fight.

"You fought so hard," Feldt said softly as she continued to hold Tieria's hand, "Thank you…"

But then they watched as Tieria was easily overpowered, //Nadleeh has no defensive power and he was already injured going into the battle// Sumeragi thought, //That must have hurt so much…//

"Feldt," Sumeragi said as she watched Tieria lose consciousness, "Tieria had a fever earlier. Will you check his body temperature?"

Feldt nodded, "Thirty-seven point four," She said, "It's not quite a fever but it's quite a bit above average. What was it earlier?"

"Thirty-eight even," Sumeragi said, "I beginning to regret sending him to fight. He was in no condition to sortie."

"We needed him to fight though," Feldt said, "Even if you tried to lock the launch sequence on Tieria's Gundam he would have fought anyway. If Lockon could manually override one of Tieria's rewritten codes then Tieria could have easily overridden one of your rewritten codes."

"I know," Sumeragi said.

They continued to watch as the Nadleeh drifted around the area it had fought in until Tieria struggled to eject the GN-Drive two hours later.

"He was willing to die…" Sumeragi gasped as the mission recorder ended, "Tieria was ready to die…"

"That's the way he is," Feldt said as she looked towards the monitor and sighed, "How much longer until we get to Krung Thep?"

"About three hours," Sumeragi said, "Why?"

"Tieria's stats aren't rising anymore," Feldt said, "But…they haven't stabilized either."

"You mean they're dropping!?" Sumeragi cried. She couldn't deal with this right now, she just couldn't. It was bad enough that they had lost Exia's signal, Kyrios and Allelujah were in the hands of the enemy she didn't need the only Meister she could rescue to die on her before she could get him help. "How much longer before our Life-support system no longer helps him?"

"About two hours," Feldt said.

"Dammit, we can't go any faster!" Sumeragi cried, "I'm putting in a call to Krung Thep. I'm not going to have him off life-support for an hour in the condition he's in. I'm not going to risk having him die before we get there."

* * *

Linda Vashti hurried to the medical bay of Krung Thep, "Autum-chan," She called, "You're going to head out in the medical vessel. We got an emergency transmission from the Ptolemaios, they are in desperate need of a medic.

A girl who looked about seventeen years of age looked up at the blond woman, "The battle was that bad?" she asked.

"Apparently so," Linda said, "The Ptolemaios was destroyed. Hurry Autum-chan, it sounds as though they've got someone with life-threatening injuries."

"Alright," She said as she got ready.

* * *

Sumeragi sighed as the life-support system began beeping as Tieria's condition slowly started to worsen. "Feldt give him something for the pain," She said softly, "It might him."

"But his intolerance…"Feldt said. Tieria had a severe intolerance to pain medication. The first and only time he had taken the pain medication that the Meisters kept on them, Tieria ended up getting violently ill and remained sick for three days afterwards. "Will it be alright?"

"It will be fine," Sumeragi said, "It might help his muscles relax a bit."

Feldt nodded and injected the medication into Tieria's side. After a few minutes she sighed, "It's not doing anything," She said, "He's still…" Feldt struggled to say the word that was at her lips. She knew what was happening to Tieria, he was dying and there was nothing that they could do to stop it. Tieria's heart rate and the pace of his breathing were both slowing. It had started out a slow decrease but in the past hour or so it had started to slow a bit faster as the life-support system reached its limit. Tears came to Feldt's eyes again, "Sumeragi…he's…he's…he's…Tieria's still…dying…"

Sumeragi gasped, "Don't say that Feldt," She scolded, "Don't you dare say that! Tieria is not going to die! We're going to save him, he's going to be alright."

"But Sumeragi," Feldt cried, "He's barely breathing and his blood pressure is dropping as well! How can you say that he's not dying!?"

"How can _you_ say that he _is _dying!?" Sumeragi yelled.

"Because his body is shutting down on him!" Feldt screamed, "How in hell can we save him if our life-support system will stop working in less than an hour!? And we _still _haven't heard from the medical vessel that was deployed from Krung Thep! What do you plan to do when our life-support system fails and they're not here yet!?"

"Goddammit, I'll perform CPR if I have to!" Sumeragi yelled, "I am NOT going to let Tieria die on us! Feldt, I promise, I _will _save him."

"_Wow, I've never heard you talk like that Sumeragi Li Noriega," _A girl's voice called through a transmission.

"They're here," Sumeragi gasped in relief.

"_It sounds like I got here just in time," _The girl said, _"We're beginning docking sequences. I'll be there in a little bit."_

Sumeragi sighed in relief again but then remembered something. They were going to have to take Tieria off the life-support system they had to get him on the medical vessel's system.

"What's wrong Sumeragi?" Feldt asked.

"In order to get Tieria on the more powerful life-support system, we'll have to take him off of our system for a while." Sumeragi said softly.

"How long is that going to be?" Feldt asked.

"Three to five minutes," Sumeragi said gravely.

"I can assure you, I'll do it in three minutes or less," A female voice said.

Sumeragi looked over and saw a very familiar teenaged girl with red hair and deep gray eyes standing in the doorway, "Autum…"

"Hey sis, it's been a while."

* * *

Oh boy, another cliffhanger. I really like those so, yeah you're kinda stuck with them. Poor Feldt, she needs to sleep for a good long time. And what about Tieria, how is he going to hold up in his condition? What about Autum (She's an OC by the way) how does she know Sumeragi and why is she calling her sis? Keep reading and you'll find out. Until next time Minna-san!

_Ex-Shark-V-005_


	5. Am I the Only One Left

Konnichiwa Minna-san! Yahoo I'm back after a short hiatus! I apologize, school and life have been crazy whirlwinds of busy but I'm back. Like last chapter there's not much for me to say about this besides it picks up just about where the first season ends. So ignore the disclaimer and get started!

Disclaimer: I, Ex-Shark-Virtue-005, do not own Gundam 00, or the characters, Veda's just granting me permission to have fun with them for the time being.

Happy Reading

* * *

Chapter Five: Am I the Only One Left?

Sumeragi gasped in shock, "Autum…what…what are you doing here?" She asked.

"Veda selected me shortly after you ran off," The girl said, "I'm guessing that that boy is the one you need help with." She walked up to the cot and glanced at the monitor, "He's in rough shape. This is…Tieria right? What happened to him?"

"His Gundam was nearly destroyed," Sumeragi said softly.

"How is that possible?" Autum asked, "The Virtue has such thick armor…wait he didn't sortie in the Nadleeh, did he?"

"He did," Sumeragi said, "Virtue's plating was damaged beyond what we had time to repair. He went out in Nadleeh with a slight fever and two broken ribs."

"No wonder," Autum said as she read the list of injuries, "Nadleeh has no defensive power." She sighed, "I'm going to do this as fast as I can. Our life support capsule is right outside in the hangar. Feldt-chan, I'm going to need you to hold the oxygen tank he's…I'm not going to take him off oxygen until just before we get him into the capsule." Autum sighed. She didn't want to tell her sister and Feldt that Tieria wasn't taking in enough oxygen on his own to keep his body functioning, "Oneesan, I need you to help too. I'm going to need you carry him."

"When are you going to take him off life-support?" Sumeragi asked.

"In a few minutes, why?" Autum asked, "What's wrong oneesan?"

"I'm worried that he'll…" Sumeragi started. She was fearful for the young pilot in front of her. The boy had gone through more than what he could handle. She didn't want to lose the boy after she had tried so hard to save him. "I'm afraid that we'll…we'll lose him…if he's taken off life support…"

"That won't happen," Autum said, "He won't be off life support long enough for that to happen."

"How long can he off life support?" Feldt asked.

Autum sighed. She didn't want to tell them that Tieria was far worse off than she was telling them. "Tieria can be off life-support for about thirty minutes," She lied. Tieria could only be off life-support for about ten minutes before his condition turned life threatening, "Oneesan, do you have him?"

"Not quite," Sumeragi said as Ian entered the room.

"Let me help you," Ian said as he helped Sumeragi lift the limp boy from the cot.

"Feldt-chan grab the bracelet," Autum said, "I'm taking him off life-support."

It took only three minutes to get Tieria from one life-support to the other but in that short span of time Tieria's breathing and blood-pressure had worsened.

"How's he doing?" Feldt asked as Autum started the system.

"Same as before," Autum lied, "It'll be a while until we get to Krung Thep so just take it easy until we get there. Don't worry Tieria is in good hands with me, I'll make sure he gets back in a Gundam."

Sumeragi gasped, "What do you mean?" She asked.

"We're still going to need the Gundams oneesan," Autum said, "This is only going to escalate things."

"Can I help out?" Feldt asked.

"No," Autum said, "You need to rest. When we get to Krung Thep I am going to put you on a sleep aid for a while."

Feldt nodded, "Take of him," she said.

"I will," Autum said, "Linda-san, Mileina-chan, I'll need you're help."

"Alright," Linda said, "Oh Sumeragi, we got word from one of our members from Lagrange One, they found and are treating Lasse Aeon."

Sumeragi sighed in relief. "Thank you for letting me know," She said as she followed one of the medical attendants to one of the rooms.

"Mileina-chan," Autum said as they entered the medical room, "I need you to get everything ready."

"Alright," Mileina said.

Autum opened the capsule and noticed a thin trail of blood at the corner Tieria's mouth, "Dammit, he's exhaling blood," She swore, "Mileina-chan is it ready yet?"

"Almost," The child responded, "Give me a minute."

Autum sighed, "When you're done with that, I need you to get the last two mission logs from Tieria's Gundam." She said, "It may help us."

"Hai," Mileina said, "It's all set."

"Thanks," Autum said as she connected the smaller capsule to the larger more powerful one. After a minute Tieria's stats came up, "Goddammit, this isn't good at all…"

"What's wrong?" Linda asked as she entered the room.

"Every rib on his right side is broken," She said, "Three of them shattered. His right lung is punctured in several places. He's broken his upper right arm, right shoulder blade, collar bone. There are two fractured ribs on his left side that show slight signs of healing. He also has a pretty massive concussion. And to make matters worse, we can't put him in the ICU capsule when we get to Krung Thep. We'll have to manually remove the large bone fragments from his lung, otherwise the bleeding will kill him before the medical nano-machines can break them down."

"I see," Linda said, "Should I inform Sumeragi about this?"

"No, not yet," Autum said, "She's already fearful enough for this young pilot's life. She doesn't need something else to worry about."

"But you will have to tell your sister about this sooner or later," Linda said, "Tieria doesn't have an age but he is still under your sister's care and she needs to know what's going to happen to him once we get him to the medical facility."

"I understand that," Autum said, "But please let me put if off for a few more hours."

"Alright," Linda said, "But what are you going to do about his condition for the time being?"

"I'm going to do all I can do," Autum said, "With the proper life-support system he can hold out for quite a while. Seriously this kid is a lot stronger than he looks both mentally and physically."

"How long can he hold out for?" Linda asked.

"About forty-eight hours," Autum said, "But by then he should be undergoing treatment by then."

"That's incredible…" Linda said, "He can hold out for two days in that condition?"

"Yeah," Autum said, "His blood pressure is improving but with his dominant lung down he's relying on the machine to breathe. But he's got steady internal bleeding, based on the blood at his mouth it's from his lungs. The nano-machines can only do so much so we'll need to monitor him closely. How much longer until we get back?"

"It'll be about four hours," Linda said, "Do you want me to help you out Autum-chan?"

"No," Autum said, "I want you to stay with my sister and Mileina-chan I want you to stay with Feldt-chan. They need comforting right now. Tell them that Tieria will be alright and that he just needs to rest for a while."

"Alright," Linda said, "What do we say if they want to see him?"

Autum sighed, "I'm not sure," She said, "He's stabilizing but he's still far from out of the woods. I mean I guess it's alright for them to see him seeing as though his condition isn't going to change much."

"We'll let them know," Linda said as they left the room.

Autum nodded then turned to the boy, "You really amaze me," She said, "You truly amaze me in every way Tieria Erde."

* * *

Allelujah woke up in a strange place. He had no idea how he had gotten there but there was something odd about this place. //Where am I?// He thought, //How did I get here? Where is Setsuna…Tieria…?// Then it hit him and he remembered everything about the battle.

"Tieria!" He cried as he tried to sit up but found that he was unable to do so due to tight shackles around his arms, legs, and waist.

"_Sir, the Gundam pilot is awake."_

"_Good."_

//Why am I tied up?// Allelujah thought, //Hallelujah what happened? Hallelujah...// Then he remembered that Hallelujah was gone. And for the first time in as long as he could remember, his mind was silent and he was completely alone.

"_Let him sit up so we can talk."_

It was then that there were two other men in the room with him, "Who are you?" He called out, "Where am I?"

"Well for one, you're in an HRL transport ship," One of the men said, "And we don't have to tell you who we are."

"We're sorry we can't have your little lady friend here but she's a tad busy at the moment," The other man said, "And we got some other bad news for you Mr. Gundam pilot, it seems as though your damned organization has finally fallen."

"It can't be…" Allelujah gasped, "It…just…can't be…why…?"

"Because there is a God out there and he has decided that your reign of terror is over."

Allelujah bit his lip, //Hallelujah was right…// He thought, //Tieria was killed…He shouldn't have gone out…dammit he would still be alive if he had rested! And what about Setsuna…he was so young…Dammit!//

"Oi look he's crying!"

"Did you little organization mean that much to you? And who's Tieria? Your little girlfriend?"

//Dammit…// Allelujah thought as his vision grew dim, //It can't be…I'm…the only one left…// With that thought Allelujah lost consciousness.

* * *

Setsuna slowly opened his eyes and found himself in an odd situation. He was lying in a bed in what looked like a medical bay.

//Where am I?// He thought. He was in terrible pain but he needed to find out where he was, //Was I rescued or was I…//

He sat up quickly and was met with a stabbing pain in his chest.

"Hey, take it easy," A woman's voice said.

"Where am I?" Setsuna gasped, "Who are you?"

"My name is Linsae Makenzie," The woman said, "I am a member of the Doctors Without Borders. My team and I found your mobile suit which I am guessing in one of those Gundams everyone was talking about."

"Are you going to turn me in?" Setsuna asked.

"No," Linsae said, "When your injuries have healed I'll release you and it will be as if we never met."

"Did you find any other Gundams?" Setsuna asked.

"I'm afraid not," Linsae said, "Although we did pass a fallen light blue and white ship a little while ago."

"Ptolemaios fell!?" Setsuna cried out, "Ugh…"

"You have rather severe injuries," Linsae said, "You need to rest."

Setsuna sighed as he closed his eyes. It was getting harder for him to keep his eyes open. //Is Tieria Erde alright?// He thought, //What about Allelujah Haptism, Feldt Grace and Lasse Aeon? Are they all still alive…or am I…the only one left…?//

* * *

Sumeragi sighed as she looked at the young boy in the medical capsule. //This is all my fault// She thought, //He's the only one we have left because of me…will he ever be able to forgive me?//

"Oneesan," Autum called, "He'll be okay. His body is in rough shape now but he will recover in time."

"I know he will," Sumeragi said softly, "It's Tieria he'll be alright…"

"But, I need to tell you," Autum said, "He'll need to undergo surgery once we get to Krung Thep…we'll need to remove the bone fragments from his right lung. I just want to let you know that due to his severe intolerance to any kind of pain medication we'll have to resort to less conventional methods."

"What do you mean?" Sumeragi asked.

"I'm saying that because we cannot put him on morphine, we'll have to put him in a medically induced coma," Autum said, "It's safe and it may speed his recovery however; based on the concussion he has, if he's put in the coma…"

"He may never wake up from it…" Sumeragi finished vacantly, "Why are you telling me this?"

"I need your consent for the procedure," Autum said, "We cannot operate unless you give the okay."

"Why do you need my permission?" Sumeragi said, "Tieria's not a child."

"He may not be a minor," Autum said, "But we need your consent…he's under your care and he's in no condition to make the decision for himself…please oneesan, I know you want to save this boy."

"I cannot do that," Sumeragi said vacantly, "If he dies during surgery or never wakes up…it will be another comrade who has died because of one of my decisions…I cannot consent to the surgery…"

Autum sighed as Sumeragi left the room, "Now what do I do?" She asked, "He'll die if we don't do this but…we can't operate if she doesn't consent."

"I'll consent to it then," Linda said, "Tieria is under the care of Celestial Being and as a member I chose to take the boy into my care. I will sign the consent form as Tieria Erde's caretaker."

"Linda-san!" Autum said, "You can't do that…can you?"

"As long as Sumeragi agrees to the change in caretaker," Linda said.

"I can't see her doing that…" Autum said softly.

Linda nodded, "Sumeragi Li Noriega please report to the Medical Bay," She called over the announcement system.

"I told you," Sumeragi said, "I'm not consenting to the operation."

"You don't have to," Linda said, "I'll consent."

"Linda…" Sumeragi said, "Then what do you need me for?"

"I need you to agree to me becoming Tieria's caretaker," Linda said, "Right now you're listed as Tieria-kun's caretaker and decision maker if he cannot consent himself. I need your approval to become his decision maker."

"Fine," Sumeragi said, "Go ahead…You're Tieria's caretaker now. And it's for the best…I'll just end up sending him to his death again…I've almost done that twice now."

"Thank you Sumeragi," Linda said, "Autum-chan, I consent to the methods needed to save Tieria's life."

"Thank you Linda," Autum said, "Please go check on Feldt-chan and Sumeragi-san. We'll be arriving at Krung Thep in about twenty minutes."

"I will," Linda said, "Take care of him."

"You know I will," Autum said. She then turned to the boy, "You had better pull through, Sumeragi-san will kill Linda-san and I if you don't."

* * *

So Autum is Sumeragi's little sister, how's that gonna affect things? And what about Tieria, will he pull through so that Sumeragi won't kill her sister or Linda? Linsae Makenzie and Autum Kujou are original Characters, so their mine. Keep reading and you'll find out. Until next time Minna-san!

_Ex-Shark-V-005_


	6. Lost in Thought

Konnichiwa minna-san! After several set backs, I'm back! I had this and several other chapters nearly complete, but then my computer decided to be a(n) ---- (be creative here) and the hard-drive crashed with absolutely no warning what so ever. One minute is was working fine, the next minute nothing so I've been working hard to get everything back up as quickly as possible. Well now that that's out on to the story and I have nothing to say aside from if the format is slightly different blame the fact that I'm using a different program for the time being. So enjoy!

Disclaimer: I, Ex-Shark-Virtue-005, do not own Gundam 00 or the character, Veda's just granting me permission to have fun with them for a while.

Happy Reading!

* * *

Chapter Six: Lost in Thought

Sumeragi sighed as she sat outside the medical wing at Lagrange three. There were two children in the ward that were there because of her. A young girl who was under sedatives because of severe stress. Then there was a boy in there who was much worse off. The boy was in there fighting for his life. The boy was severely injured and barely alive and it was because of her. It was her fault that the boy and girl were in there. It was her fault that the girl needed to be sedated and the boy was undergoing surgery to remove fragments of bone from his lung.

She had been asked if she wanted to stay by the boy's side during the procedure. But she declined. She made the excuse that she was squeamish but it wasn't the truth. Sumeragi wasn't squeamish, she just could stand at the side of a boy whose life-threatening injuries had been her fault. She felt as though she had sent the boy off to his death. He had been ill and injured when he went out to fight, and she had approved it.

She sighed again. She had taken everything that the two children held dear to them. She had taken away their home, their possessions, their family and she nearly took their lives from them. She wondered if the boy would every be able to forgive her for what she did to him. She sighed. She knew that the boy was in critical condition but the surgery was taking too long. It had been five hours and they were still in there. Did his heart stop while they were operating? Was the internal bleeding to severe to control? Was it possible that the boy couldn't be saved? She bit her lip and tried to suppress the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Sumeragi?" A voice called bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Linda," Sumeragi said as she looked up, "Tieria...how is he?"

"He pulled through," Linda said, "The surgery was a success, Tieria-kun is in recovery right now." Sumeragi sighed in relief. "But he's still a long way from a full recovery. We have to regenerate the right side of his ribcage. The breaks in his right arm, shoulder, and collarbone need to heal."

"But he will be okay, won't he?" Sumeragi asked.

"Don't worry," Linda said, "He'll be fine. He'll make a full recovery in about two month's time. Do you want to see him?"

Sumeragi gasped, "N-no," She stuttered, "I mean...I'm sure he's fine...I can wait..."

"I think it will put you at ease," Autum said as she entered the corridor, "Come on oneesan." She grabbed Sumeragi by the arm.

Sumeragi sighed as she was forced to go to the recovery room. She gasped as she saw the boy lying unnaturally still. Tieria was hooked up to several machines and the room was nearly silent save for the hiss of the breathing apparatus and the steady beep of the heart monitor.

"Go on," Autum said, "He's in a medically induced coma. You're not going to wake him up."

Sumeragi sighed as she walked into the room. She hated hospitals, especially when when one of her comrades was fighting for their life in one. At first it looked as thought Tieria was just sleeping soundly until she got close enough to see his right side. She gasped as she saw the stitched laceration running almost the entire length of the boy's bare torso. She put her hand to her mouth as he knees grew weak. She wanted to look away but her gaze was fixed on the angry red line and everything that had happened in the past few days began to overwhelm her.

"Sumeragi," Linda said, "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"It's my fault..." She gasped as her head began to spin, "This is my fault..." She then slumped forward as she fainted.

Linda gasped as she caught Sumeragi as she fainted.

"Quick," Autum said, "Get her in one of the capsules."

Linda nodded as Autum helped her get Sumeragi into the capsule nearest to Tieria.

"What's wrong?" Linda asked as Autum activated the capsule.

"Stress," Autum said, "Oneesan was in over her head and exhausted. Give her some time, she'll be alright."

_

* * *

She gasped as Ian and Lasse rushed by with Lockon on a stretcher._

_ "Hang in there Lockon," Lasse called as he tried to control some of the bleeding._

_ "Our enemy is still out there!" Sumeragi called, "Setsuna, Allelujah, Tieria, help out with the repairs to the Gundams!"_

_ "Ryokai," Setsuna responded._

_ "Hai," Allelujah said._

_ Sumeragi looked at Tieria. Normally he was the first to respond. But he was just standing there, his helmet on the floor at his feet and his gaze fixed on where the stretcher had passed in front of him._

_ "Tieria!" She snapped, "Tieria respond!"_

_ "My fault..." Tieria mumbled, his garnet eyes wide._

_ "What?" Sumeragi asked._

_ "It's my fault..." Tieria muttered as his eyes closed and he fell backwards unconscious._

_ "Some one get him!" Sumeragi yelled as Allelujah prevented Tieria from bashing his head on the wall behind him._

_ "What's wrong, is he hurt somewhere?" Allelujah asked as he lifted Tieria._

_ "I don't know," Sumeragi said, "Hurry, bring him to the medical room."_

_

* * *

"Moreno," Sumeragi said as she stood beside the capsule Tieria was in, "What's wrong with him?"'_

_ "He seems to be suffering from mental shock," Joyce said as he deactivated the capsule, "He's uninjured but exhausted, just let him rest a while."_

_ Sumeragi nodded and looked at the boy. "I'll stay here until he wakes," She said, "I just want to make sure he's alright."_

_

* * *

About an hour later, Tieria started stirring._

_ "Tieria," Sumeragi asked softly, "Are you alright?"_

_ Tieria opened his eyes, "What happened?" He asked softly._

_ "You fainted," Sumeragi said as Tieria sat up, "Are you alright?" _

_ Tieria was about to nod when he caught a glance at Lockon. The boy's garnet eyes widened and his pale face paled further._

_ "Tieria," Sumeragi asked again, "Are you alright?"_

_ "I'm going to be sick..." Tieria muttered. He then clamped his hand to his mouth and his face grew whiter still._

_ Sumeragi panicked as she tried to find something the boy could throw up in. She then quickly handed him a waste paper basket._

_ Tieria took the basket and was immediately sick. Sumeragi sighed as she rubbed the boy's back as she coughed and dry-heaved. _

_ "Here," She said as she eased Tieria against the bed, "Take it easy. I'm going to get Doctor Moreno, you're not at all well."_

_ Sumeragi walked into the small office, "Doctor Moreno,"_

_ "What is it Sumeragi?" Joyce asked._

_ "Tieria's awake," Sumeragi said, "But he's not at all well."_

_ "Alright, I'll be right there," Joyce said, "Go out there with him."_

_ Sumeragi walked back over to Tieria, "Doctor Moreno is on his way," She said as she ran her hand through Tieria's damp hair, "What's wrong?" _

_ Tieria didn't speak, he just clutched his stomach._

_ "Your stomach hurts?" Sumeragi asked. Tieria nodded. He then rolled on his side and shut his eyes._

_ "What seems to be the problem?" Joyce asked._

_ "He said that his stomach hurts," Sumeragi said. _

_ Joyce walked up to Tieria and placed his hand on the boy's clammy but cool forehead, "He's not warm at all," He said, "But he doesn't look well at all. Tieria, what's wrong?"_

_ Once again, Tieria didn't speak. He just clutched his stomach and head this time._

_ "Do your head and stomach hurt?" He asked as Tieria nodded. "Is anything else bothering you?" Tieria shook his head and Joyce nodded._

_ "What do you think it is?" Sumeragi asked._

_ "I think it's stress and exhaustion," Joyce said, "I think I'm going to put him on a sleep-aid for a while. He needs to sleep."_

_ Tieria's eyes widened and he shook his head._

_ "What is it Tieria?" Sumeragi asked._

_ "There's no time," Tieria mouthed as he sat up._

_ "But Tieria," Sumeragi said, "You're really not well. You need to rest for a while, so you feel better."_

_ "There's no time." Tieria mouthed just before he clamped his hand over his mouth again._

_ Sumeragi sighed as she handed the waste paper basket back to Tieria. "Tieria..." She said as she rubbed Tieria's back as he coughed and sobbed, "You need to rest. You won't be able to fight in this condition."_

_ "I can't stay here," Tieria whispered as he sobbed._

_ Sumeragi sighed. Then remembered that Lockon was right next to Tieria and she also remembered Tieria's comment before he fainted. "Is it because of Lockon?" she asked softly._

_ Tieria nodded and tried to stand. "You really should stay here, Tieria," Joyce said as he caught the boy as his legs refused to support his weight, "You're really in no condition to be up and about."_

_ "I can't," Tieria said as he tried to stand again, "Please...I just can't. Let me go back to my room. I can't be in here..."_

_ Joyce sighed, "Sumeragi, what do you think?" He asked. In all the years he had known Tieria, the boy had never once been remotely near this hysterical. _

_ "Let him go back to his room," Sumeragi said, "I know why he can't be in here and I'll tell you later."_

_ Joyce nodded, "I still want him to sleep for a while with some assistance," He said, "He needs to rest."_

_ Sumeragi nodded as she helped Tieria stand. "Come on Tieria," She said as she grabbed the small bucket and led him from the room, "It's going to be okay..."_

* * *

Feldt stood beside Sumeragi's bed. She sighed she knew why Sumeragi had fainted. Sumeragi blamed herself for what had happened to Tieria and she had a feeling that when she had seen the incision on Tieria's chest she lost all control. Feldt didn't blame her though, the sight of the incision had also made her feel a bit sick.

But unlike Sumeragi, Feldt knew that somehow Tieria would pull through eventually. Even if it took months, Feldt knew that Tieria would wake up some day and he would then try to rebuild the broken organization. She knew that the critical injuries were just a minor set back for him and that soon he would be back working to create a better future. She just wished that Sumeragi could see that.

"She's alright Feldt-chan," Linda said, "She just needs some time to rest."

"I know," Feldt said, "I just wish that she could understand that Tieria's is going to be alright. She probably blames herself for everything that happened."

"I know," Linda said, "But there's nothing we can do but support her right now. She's going through a lot and we just need to be there for her."

Feldt nodded then turned towards Tieria, "When is he going to be put in the intensive care capsule?" She asked.

"In a few more hours," Linda said, "His vitals need to stabilize a bit more before we can start the treatment."

Feldt nodded, "He'll be alright," She said softly, "Tieria's a fighter. He's not going to let himself die, not with the plan still in motion."

* * *

Poor Sumeragi, she's got a lot on her mind and can't handle it. And as for the flashback, it was something that I should have started the fic with but didn't so I slipped it in as a flashback because I can. The beginning of it is cannon though, up until the part where T-chan faints. I managed to get my hands on some untranslated Japanese Gundam 00 manga that's better than the series that was released in the States but whatever, I can still read it. So until next time minna-san!

_Ex-Shark-V-005_


	7. Taking the Blame

Konnichiwa minna-san! I'm back with a longer chapter for this story. It took me a bit longer to get this chapter out but it was a busy yet super unproductive few weeks for me. Well, I don't have much to say about this chapter, so skip the pointless and annoying disclaimer and get started.

Disclaimer: I, Ex-shark-Virtue-005, do not own Gundam 00 or the Characters, Veda's just granting me permission to have fun with them for a while.

Happy Reading!

* * *

Chapter Seven: Taking the Blame

_Sumeragi slowly opened her eyes. She remembered seeing the laceration on Tieria's chest then nothing. She sat up still rubbing the deep sleep from her eyes. But something was wrong._ _The bed next to her was empty, she was the only person left in the room. She quickly got up and left the room. She needed to find out where Tieria was, he had been there when she had fainted. _

_She found the medical room to be strangely empty. There was no one to be found. _

_"Sumeragi," A voice called._

_"Linda," She said, "Oh thank goodness. Where is Tieria?"_

_Linda sighed._

_"What's wrong?" Sumeragi asked._

_"You might want to sit down," Linda said, "I'm sorry Sumeragi, but Tieria's dead._ _The injuries were too much for his body to handle and he went into cardiac arrest a little while ago."_

_"No...It can't be..." Sumeragi gasped as she sank to the ground._

_"We did everything we could to get to try to get his heart to start again but we just couldn't revive him. I'm sorry."_

_"Where's Feldt..." She asked as she stood, still unable to digest what Linda had told her._

_"She doesn't want anything to do with you," Linda said, "You took her brothers away from her." _

_"Tieria..." Sumeragi gasped, "Is he really...?" _

_"Yes," Linda said as she led Sumeragi into a dark room, "Tieria Erde is dead."_

_"Are you sure...?" She asked._

_Linda turned on the lights in the room and Tieria's lifeless form was on a table in the center of the room, "Is this proof enough for you?"_

_Sumeragi gasped as she approached the table. Tieria's face was white and there was no movement from him at all. She grabbed his cold almost wax-like hand, "It's true..." She gasped as she couldn't find a pulse, "Tieria...I'm so sorry..."_

"I highly doubt that."

_Sumeragi gasped as she looked up. Tieria's ghost was standing right in front of her._

"Look what you did to me!" _He said bitterly while gesturing his incorporeal transparent body, _"You killed me! You sent me off to my death Sumeragi Li Noriega!"

_"No..." Sumeragi gasped as she tried to put her hand on the boy's shoulder but her hand right through him, "I never meant for this to happen!"_

"I thought I made it clear when Nadleeh was first revealed, that whatever happened on the mission was entirely your responsibility!" _Tieria said._

_"But you asked me for the mission plan!" Sumeragi pleaded._

"But who's plan were we following?" _Tieria asked, _"You are the tactical forecaster aren't you?" _Sumeragi nodded weakly, _"Then it's your fault then. You took our lives!"

_"But I didn't..."_

"Don't try to argue," _Tieria said, _"What's done is done. How does it feel being responsible for the deaths of four _more _comrades?"

* * *

Sumeragi woke up drenched in a cold sweat. What Tieria had said in the nightmare was still ringing in her ears and it was taking all of her already weak will to keep herself from screaming. She wiped the sweat and sleep from her eyes and turned to the bed next to her. She nearly cried when she found that it was empty. The machines were still there, the young pilot was not. She threw the covers off of her and hurried out of the bed. She ran from the room and nearly slammed into Feldt.

"Feldt," Sumeragi cried, "Please tell me! Tell me that Tieria isn't..."

"What's wrong Sumeragi?" Feldt asked. She had never seen her like this before.

"Where's Tieria? Where's Tieria!" She screamed, "PLEASE TELL ME! WHERE IS HE!"

"Calm down 'neesan," Autum said as she hurried over to her sister, "If you'll calm down and follow me. I'll explain."

Sumeragi released Feldt and nodded. She followed her younger sister into a private room, where she found Tieria resting in one of the intensive care capsules.

"His stats came up enough to move him here while you were asleep," She said, "We didn't want to bother you so we didn't tell you. I'm sorry someone should have explained when you first woke up."

"I don't care," Sumeragi said trying to hold back the tears, "As long as he's alive."

"We'll leave you alone for a bit," Autum said, "As long as you promise not to scare the hell out of Feldt-chan again."

Sumeragi nodded. Once her sister and Feldt were out of the room she burst into tears. Something she probably should have done when they had first found Tieria alive.

* * *

Ian sighed as he looked at the twisted remains of the Dynames and Nadleeh. He had already tested what was left of the Dynames and found that while the Gundam was still operational the damage was too great for the Gundam to be salvaged without an almost complete overhaul. He turned his attention to the Nadleeh. He already knew that the Gundam was beyond repair but he had to try to get it to work anyway.

"Mileina," He called, "Is it ready to be tested?"

"Just about," the young girl called, "We're linking the GN-Drive to the Gundam now."

"I don't see why you're doing this," One of the mechanics said, "It's obvious that this Gundam is completely wrecked."

"You never know," Ian said, "Is it linked yet?"

"Now it is," Mileina called, "What should we do now?"

"Move away from the Gundam," Ian said, "We have no idea what's going to happen when we start it up."

"Okay," Mileina called as she and the other mechanic moved a safe distance away from the Gundam.

"I'm starting the performance test," Ian called as he remotely started the Gundam. For the first ten seconds it seemed as though the Gundam was functioning normally but then there was a small explosion of GN-Particles from where the head would have been. Ian panicked and quickly ended the performance test, "Mileina!" He yelled, "Are you two alright?" His daughter and the other mechanic had been much closer to the Gundam than he had been and he had seen what the end result of a GN-Particle overload could do first hand. And he didn't want it to happen again.

"We're alright," Mileina called, "What happened?"

"Nadleeh's totaled," Ian replied, "That's what happened."

"What did you expect?" The mechanic asked, "This Gundam wasn't meant for combat. It's only purpose was to utilize the TRIAL system." He paused and lowered his voice, "How's the pilot doing? I heard he was badly injured. Is he going to be okay?"

Ian sighed, "Tieria's condition is still up in the air," he said, "It's still too soon to tell how long it's going to take for him to recover."

The mechanic sighed, "Keep us updated," he said, "We're just as concerned about him as you are."

Ian nodded then turned to the wrecked Gundams, /What's left of the Nadleeh is going to have to be scrapped/ he thought, /We can salvage some of the Dynames if we need to. But the new Gundams are coming along well. They won't be needed right away anymore, so we can take our time completing them/ He sighed, "I just hope that Tieria pulls through and that Setsuna and Allelujah are still alive somewhere..."

* * *

Sumeragi had returned to her room. Both her sister and Linda had insisted that she spend more time with Tieria but she couldn't bring herself to do so. Tieria had been moved to an intensive care capsule but his condition was still listed as critical and there was also the possibility that he would never wake up. And she knew that if that did happen, she wouldn't be able to live with herself. She flopped down on the bed and opened a beer. She wished that she had something stronger but all of her hard liquor had been on the Ptolemaios.

She had heard that the people at Lagrange One managed to secure what was left of the ship but she didn't want to see it. Chris, Lichty and Moreno had lost their lives on that ship and she didn't want anything to do with it.

"Sumeragi," Ian called as he entered Sumeragi's room, "There you are. I've been trying to get a hold of you all day."

"What is it Ian?" She asked. She just wanted to be left alone. Was that too much to ask?

"The people at Lagrange One managed to secure the Ptolemaios," He said, "They said that the residence hall is undamaged. Do you want them to retrieve anything from the rooms?"

Sumeragi sighed, "Just tell them to save whatever," She said. Not that retrieving the few belongings that the Meisters had would do them any good seeing that Tieria was the only one left and there was no guarantee that he would ever wake up. "Tell them to save everything if you really want to." She took a swig of beer, "I don't really care what you tell them to do. You could tell them to trash it all and I wouldn't give a damn."

Ian sighed, "You don't mean that," He said, "What happened to you?"

"I'll tell you what happened to me!" She yelled, "I did it again! Alright, I made another mistake that caused the lives of several comrades! Lockon's dead! Moreno's dead! Chris is dead! Lichty's dead! For all we know, Allelujah and Setsuna might be dead as well!" She paused, "And as for Tieria, well, he may never wake up again! I'm the one at fault for what happened to them! I brought this on to them! Goddammit! I suck at being a tactical forecaster!"

"Get a hold of yourself!" He yelled as he grabbed the beer from Sumeragi's hand, "You are not at fault here! I should have done more to prevent Lockon from heading out and I should have improved upon Nadleeh's defenses. But what's done has been done and there's nothing that can change it."

"But the Meisters are my responsibility," Sumeragi said, "Everything that happens to them is my fault."

Ian sighed, "And I'm just as at fault as you are," He said, "They trusted me to take care of their Gundams. And with Nadleeh I couldn't do it. I couldn't make Nadleeh's defenses any better...if only I had had more time."

"I could have prevented all of the deaths..." Sumeragi said.

"If only we had installed a weapons system on the Ptolemaios," Ian said, "Chris and Lichty would still be alive."

"NEITHER OF YOU ARE AT FAULT!" Feldt yelled before either of them could make another comment. Ian and Sumeragi looked towards the pink haired girl. "Setsuna, Allelujah, Lockon, Tieria, Chris, Lichty, Lasse, Moreno and I all knew what we were getting ourselves into when we joined. We all knew that there was a possibility that there would come a mission that we wouldn't return from and that there was nothing that could have prevented it." She paused, "I know that both of you want to blame yourselves but things happen that no one can foresee. We had no idea that that mobile armor would show up and cripple the Ptolemaios, Kyrios and Nadleeh. So please, stop blaming yourselves."

"Feldt..." Sumeragi gasped.

"Instead of blaming yourselves for this, you should be using this time to come up with ways to improve upon what went wrong so this doesn't happen again." Feldt said. She was rather disgusted by the behavior of the two adults and left the room without another word.

* * *

Linda sighed as Feldt walked into Tieria's medical room with tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Linda asked.

"Sumeragi and Ian-san are being stupid," Feldt said, "They've given up! They're blaming themselves for everything that happened in the past few days. And Sumeragi seems to think that Tieria is dead."

Linda sighed as she turned to the young pilot in the capsule. Tieria was in almost critical condition but he was no longer in danger of losing his life and all of the medical computers said that he was going to make a full recovery. Then at that moment there was a soft beeping and the capsule opened.

"What's going on?" Feldt asked. She knew that it was odd for a medical treatment to be stopped prematurely.

"I have to change the bandages on his chest. We have to keep the area near the incision clean. Tieria-kun doesn't need to develop an infection." Linda said as she placed an oxygen mask over Tieria's mouth and nose, "I only have to do this once a day for about week."

Feldt walked up to the capsule and took Tieria's left hand in hers, "You need to wake up some day," She said softly in the comatose pilot's ear, "And prove Sumeragi wrong…She doesn't think you're going to wake up."

Linda sighed as she quickly changed the bandages. Tieria could only safely be out of the capsule for five minutes and it was coming up on that five minute limit. She finished securing the final bandage, "Feldt," Linda said, "I need to close the capsule now."

Feldt released Tieria's hand and stepped back. "How long does the computer say it will take for him to recover?" She asked.

"For his injuries, it will take about two months," Linda said, "But it may very well take him much longer for him to regain consciousness."

"How long do you think it will take him to wake up?" Feldt asked.

Linda sighed, "I'm not sure," She said, "He could wake up when the treatment for his injuries is complete or it could take him up to five or six months for him to wake up."

Feldt sighed, "Sumeragi will have long lost faith by then," She said, "She's already lost faith in Tieria's recovery."

"I'll talk to her," Linda said.

"Mama," Mileina called as she entered the room, "Papa's heading off to Lagrange One to recover what's left of the Ptolemaios."

"Alright," Linda said.

Mileina sighed as she looked at Tieria, "Everyone's really worried about him," She said, "Word travels fast, all the mechanics know about it. Is he doing any better?

"Not really," Linda said, "He's only been in the capsule for about a day. Give it some time."

"He is gonna wake up someday right?" Mileina asked.

"Yes he will," Linda said, "He's going to make a full recovery."

"That's good," Mileina said, "I'm glad."

"Mileina will you stay here, I need to go talk to Sumeragi about something." Linda said.

"Good luck," Mileina said, "She doesn't want to talk to anyone."

* * *

Sumeragi sighed as Linda walked into her room. "Is there another controversial treatment you want to put that pilot under?" She asked as she took another long sip of beer, "You're that boy's caretaker and decision maker now so what do you need me for?"

"No," Linda said, "I want to let you know that Tieria-kun is going to make a full recovery."

"I see," Sumeragi said as she finished her beer and grabbed another one, "But there's still no guarantee that he'll wake up."

"Sumeragi," Linda said, "Tieria-kun is going to wake up. It's going to take some time but he will wake up someday."

Sumeragi sighed, "Whatever," She said as she took another swig.

"How many of those have you had?" Linda asked.

"This is number two and a half," Sumeragi said, "Your husband took half of my first one. Are you going to take it away from me?"

"No," Linda said. She could tell that Sumeragi was trying to drown herself in alcohol so she could forget everything that had happened. She also knew that she was avoiding any conversation regarding Tieria as well.

"Good," Sumeragi said.

"Ian is off to go recover what is left of the Ptolemaios," Linda said, "The people at Lagrange One were lucky enough to get before the Federation could."

"There's nothing in that ship that I want," Sumeragi said vacantly, "They should just scrap it."

Linda sighed again, "But what about the Meisters' possessions?" she asked, "What if they want what they had?"

"Right now we only have one Meister," Sumeragi said, "And he didn't own much of anything. He was sent to us with nothing more than the clothes that he had been wearing."

"Tieria-kun may not own much," Linda said, "But what about Allelujah-kun and Setsuna-kun?"

"What good will it do?" Sumeragi asked, "Both are missing and may never return."

"What about Feldt-chan?" Linda said, "I know that Feldt-chan owned quite a few possessions. Don't you think that she'll want them?"

Sumeragi sighed, "I didn't think about that," she said, "Are you sure that Tieria will wake up?"

"Yes," Linda said, "Tieria-kun is making a bit of progress. It's going to take several months for him to fully recover but I do believe that it's only a matter of time before he returns to work."

Sumeragi sighed, "If you say so," She said, "Now I'm sure you have a lot to do in both the hangars and the medical room and I would like to be alone."

Linda nodded, "I understand," She said as she turned towards the door, "Please don't drink too much."

"I only have a six pack," Sumeragi called as Linda left the room.

Sumeragi sighed. It seemed as though Tieria would make a full recovery and that he would return to work in time but she didn't care. Tieria was so badly injured that by the time he recovered she wouldn't be here anymore. As soon as Tieria showed even the slightest hint of returning to consciousness, she was going to leave the organization for good. She just could stand the fact that more people may die because of her tactics. She could leave Tieria to rebuild the broken organization, he was probably better suited for the job than she was anyways. She knew that Tieria would do a better job at protecting his comrades than she ever could and she felt confident leaving everything with the last remaining Meister. That was, however, if the boy ever woke up.

* * *

So Sumeragi was the victim of my twisted hobby of putting people through violent and really screwed up nightmares. And then I tortured her more when she woke up and experienced the same thing that she had seen in her dream, just with a different outcome. It seems as though both Ian and Sumeragi have given up on everything, heck, Sumeragi's planning on giving everything to Tieria, if and when he wakes up. Well that's all for now, so until next time minna-san!

_Ex-Shark-V-005_


	8. Still Trying to Cope

Konnichiwa Minna-san! I'm back and it's been a while hasn't it? So to make it up to you, I updated with a nice long chapter this time. Recently, my life has been a crazy whirlwind of about fifty things being thrown at me all at once. And, yet I somehow manage to get everything done and retain my sanity as well. Not to mention my laptop died and took about fifty or so pages of fanficition with it...but whatever I'm used to that happening. I don't have much to say about this chapter so after the, oh so _wonderful_ disclaimer you can get started.

Disclaimer: I, Ex-Shark-Virtue-005, do not own Gundam 00 or the characters, Veda's just granting me permission to have fun with them for a while.

Happy Reading!

* * *

Chapter Eight: Still Trying to Cope

Setsuna was confused when he came back to consciousness. The room he was lying in was vaguely familiar but he couldn't recall how he had gotten there.

"Ah, you're finally awake again,"

Setsuna looked towards the source of the voice and found a vaguely familiar woman standing on the other end of the room, "You're…Linsae Makenzie…" he said vacantly.

"You remembered," The woman said, "Seeing that you know my name, could you tell me your name?"

"Setsuna F. Seiei," he said.

"That's quite an interesting name you've got there," Linsae said as she started a quick check up.

"How long have I been here?" Setsuna asked.

"It's been about a week and a half since you last woke up," Linsae said, "So you've been here nearly two weeks."

"Has there been any news on Celestial Being?"

"About a week ago I saw an article about how the federation managed to capture one of your comrades," Linsae said, "The one who was responsible for the attack on the Human Reform League's Super Human Institution Research Facility."

"They have Allelujah then…" Setsuna said vacantly, "I wonder if Tieria's still alive."

"Are Allelujah and Tieria the names of your comrades?" Linsae asked.

"Yeah," Setsuna said.

"You all had such unique names," Linsae said, "Or are they just codenames?"

"They're codenames," Setsuna said, "Although Tieria may have used his real name…we're not sure…Was there anything else on the Gundams?"

"Well they just said that the Gundam your comrade was captured in was already purged of its power source as well as any vital information that the machine may have possessed." Linsae said, "Celestial Being was quite thorough."

"We had to be," Setsuna said.

"You should try to rest more," Linsae said, "Your injuries are healing well but you still need to rest for a few more weeks before I can release you."

Setsuna nodded. He was getting tired. /I'm sure Tieria is still alive/ He thought, /And the Federation won't kill Allelujah…he's too valuable. That means there are at least two of us still alive…I wish I knew if Tieira was still alive…if Tieria Erde survived the battle, we'll definitely rebuild/

* * *

Linda had just finished up running a quick check-up on Tieria when Ian entered the room holding a large box. "Welcome back," Linda greeted, "How did everything go?"

"It went well," Ian said, "Aside from the bridge and engines most of the ship can be salvaged. Our comrades at Lagrange One are going to rebuild it for us."

"That's great," Linda said as she eyed the box that Ian had just set down on the floor, "You managed to save a lot," She said.

"The living quarters were on the interior of the ship," Ian said, "And were undamaged. I got most of the clothes, the game systems from Setsuna and Lockon's rooms, Allelujah's cooking supplies and every last book Tieria owned."

"That's good," Linda said, "He's going to need those when he wakes up. He's not going to be able to do much for a while."

"Yeah," Ian said, "It wasn't easy either. He owns so many books we needed to make several trips to get them all. I don't see why he couldn't just get one of those electronic book devices. Instead of owning fifty heavy books that have to stay in his room he could own one small device that he could take anywhere."

"Tieria-kun had one of those a while ago," Linda said, "He didn't like it at all. He said that the device always gave him a headache and hurt his eyes. Were you able to find out how Lasse-kun is doing?"

"Yeah," Ian said, "And that's where we have a problem. The pseudo GN-Particles have hindered his body's ability to regenerate cells. It's not serious now…but eventually the cellular mutation will kill him."

"Oh dear…" Linda gasped, "I should tell Autum-chan to check for that…I really hope Tieria-kun doesn't have the same problem…he won't survive if that's the case…"

"How is Tieria?" Ian asked softly, "When I left he had just been moved to this room. Has he gotten any better?"

"He's making slow progress," Linda sighed, "He's in a coma but it's for the best. His body will recover faster that way. There's no lasting brain damage from the concussion he sustained however it will affect his fine motor skills for a while after he wakes up and there's a chance that he'll suffer from memory loss as well. But I'm worried about his breathing. He's still not breathing enough on his own to keep his body functioning despite the treatment and we were forced to put him back on the respirator. He will wake up in time however, we have no idea what kind of condition he'll be in when he wakes."

"Are you saying that there's a chance that Tieria will never be able to pilot again?" Ian asked.

"It's a possibility," Linda said, "We'll have to wait and see. I'm sure he'll be fine but there's always that minute chance that he won't recover as much as we hoped he would."

"Even if it takes years, I'll make damn sure Tieria Erde gets back in a Gundam someday."

"Autum-chan," Linda said, "Good timing there was something I need you to check."

"You want me to see if there are any anomalies in Tieria's cell regeneration, right?" The teenager asked, "I already checked for that and there's no need to worry. Tieria's cells are regenerating normally."

"Is Sumeragi still locking herself in her room?" Ian asked.

"Yes," Linda sighed, "She blames herself for everything that's happened. And she's treating Tieria-kun as if he's dead."

Ian sighed, "Speaking of the dead," he said somberly, "Lockon's body was recovered…the funeral is set for next week…"

"We should tell Sumeragi," Linda said, "She'll want to be there for that as will Feldt…but Tieria-kun won't wake up in time…poor thing…"

"He's going to have a hard time when he wakes up," Ian said, "He could barely deal with Lockon's death. What's going to happen when he wakes up and finds out that Setsuna and Allelujah are missing?"

"We'll just have to be there for him," Feldt said as she entered the room, "So they found Lockon's body…"

"Yeah," Ian said as he pulled a green helmet out of the box, "The funeral is next week." He handed the helmet to the girl,

"Tieria can keep this…I'll keep it for now but…Tieria should keep it…I'm fine with Haro."

"Alright," Ian said, "But I was going to give him this…" He pulled out Lockon's small green and black music player, "This was on it…" He handed a note to the girl.

"Give this to Tieria if I don't return…" Feldt read, "Doesn't Tieria have his own music player."

"I couldn't find it," Ian said, "I think he may have put it in Virtue's prep-room, which was destroyed. If that's the case his music player is gone."

"When are you going to give Tieria Lockon's music player?" Feldt asked.

Ian sighed, "I'm not going to give it to him right away," he said, "I'm going to give him some time to recover first. Giving this to him too soon would only add salt to the wounds. We could get him a replacement music player until we feel he's ready to get Lockon's."

"That seems like a good idea," Feldt said, "He hasn't come to terms with Lockon's death yet…and the news of Setsuna and Allelujah's disappearance will hit him hard as well…I worried as to how he'll react."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Autum said, "Tieria's not going to wake up for another six and a half weeks…at the earliest."

"It's going to take that long?" Ian asked.

"Yeah," Autum said, "We have to take his treatment slow. His body doesn't take well to medication at all. If we go too fast it will send his body into shock and in his condition, he won't survive it. But even if he didn't have the sensitivity to medication he has it would still take him another four to five weeks to recover."

"Let him take his time," Ian said, "There won't be much to do for a while. His new Gundam won't be ready for roll-out for another few years. I've decided to scrap the original plans for Virtue's successor. There were just too many flaws with that set-up…too many flaws that nearly cost Tieria his life…I don't want that to happen again…"

"You shouldn't blame yourself," Autum said, "No one is at fault for Tieria's injuries and taking the blame for them isn't going to help him recover any faster."

"She's right," Feldt said, "We should let him rest for now."

"I couldn't agree more," Autum said, "Give him some time and he'll wake up. But for now there is nothing more we can do for him."

* * *

Sumeragi was lying on her bed when Linda entered the room. "Linda…"

"How are you holding up?" Linda asked.

"Alright," Sumeragi responded, "What do you want?"

"Our comrades at Lagrange One recovered Lockon's body," Linda said, "The funeral is next week

Sumeragi gasped, "Lockon's funeral…"

"I thought you would want to know about that, "Linda said, "I just feel bad that poor Tieria-kun will have to miss it."

"How is…" Sumeragi started. She couldn't bring herself to use the critically injured young pilot's name.

"Tieria-kun is making slow progress," Linda said, "But he's no longer at any risk of losing his life. There's no lasting brain damage from the concussion he sustained. His memory and fine motor skills may be affected when he first wakes up but with a bit of physical therapy it shouldn't be a problem. Tieria-kun will make a full recovery and wake up, it may just take a bit of time for that to happen."

Sumeragi nodded, "Did Ian return yet?" she asked. She was trying to get off the subject of how Tieria was fairing.

"Yes," Linda said, "Our comrades at Lagrange one are rebuilding the Ptolemaios for us. Ian is currently reworking the plans for Tieria-kun's new Gundams. Ian also said that they're going to add a weapons function to the new Ptolemaios. Once Tieria-kun recovers and is cleared to return to work I'm sure he'll do everything he can to help us rebuild."

"Wouldn't the world be better off without us?" Sumeragi asked, "I mean the Human Reform League, AEU and Union merged peacefully so what's the point of our organization?"

"The world's militaries may have merged however if you read the news there is still unrest in the Middle East," Linda said, "Their situation is getting worse and if it continues another war will breakout. The merge just means that the major power blocks won't go to war anymore. That doesn't at all mean that other smaller militaries won't go to war with each other."

"I just don't see the point in continuing," Sumeragi said, "I sure the world will be happy if we never return."

Linda sighed. She knew that there was going to be no trying to reason with Sumeragi at this point in time, "Will you be attending Lockon's funeral?" she asked.

"Yes," Sumeragi said.

"Okay," Linda said, "Feldt-chan, Ian and I will also be attending."

"Alright," Sumeragi said as she went back to lying on her bed.

"If you want to talk about anything just let me know," Linda said as she headed for the door.

"I will." Sumeragi said as she was once again left in solitude.

* * *

Sumeragi sighed as she sat on the linear train. It was the day before Lockon's funeral and they were on their way to Ireland. Autum has stayed behind at Krung Thep so she could take care of Tieria.

"It's been a while since we were on Earth," Feldt said as she tried to break the thick silence in the cabin, "It's a shame…we can't enjoy it…"

Sumeragi sighed, "We're a terrorist group," She said, "We don't deserve to enjoy ourselves…"

Feldt sighed. Sumeragi had been downright negative for the past several weeks. Feldt wasn't sure if it was caused by what had happened or the fact that it had been several weeks since she had had a stiff drink.

"Noriega-san…" Mileina said, "It's not good to think like that. We're humans not machines, we should be able to enjoy ourselves every once and a while."

"I know that…" Sumeragi said, "But the rest of the world hates us…"

"The rest of the world doesn't know what we look like," Feldt said, "On the street we look like normal people."

"That's right," Mileina said, "Please cheer up Noriega-san. I don't think the Meisters would want you to take the blame for everything that happened."

"But if I hadn't submitted my mission plan for the last mission, the others would be alright," Sumeragi said, "They would still be here…"

"I don't think so," Feldt said, "If you didn't have everyone sortie, the enemy would have destroyed everything at Lagrange One to lure us out…we would have been eliminated."

"I should have kept Tieria from fighting," Sumeragi said, "He was feeling ill and he was injured when he headed out. I should have locked the Nadleeh's launch sequence…"

"Erde-san wouldn't have liked that," Mileina said.

"You wouldn't have been able to keep Tieria from launching," Feldt said, "He rewrote the lock code for Lockon's room and Lockon was able to override it. Tieria would have easily overridden one of your codes."

Sumeragi sighed, "I know," She said as she shut her eyes, "Can we get off the subject now?"

Feldt nodded. It had been nearly four weeks since the disastrous battle and Sumeragi still didn't want to talk about it. She hasn't visited Tieria since he had been moved to the intensive care capsule. Sumeragi hadn't even asked about the progress Tieria was making.

"Feldt-san," Mileina said, "Do you think that Erde-san will wake up?"

"I know he will," Feldt said softly, "Tieria isn't the type of person who will just give up. Tieria is strong willed he won't just let himself die."

* * *

It was cold and rainy when they reached their destination in Ireland.

/How fitting/ Sumeragi thought as she opened up her umbrella.

"So this is Lockon's hometown…" Feldt muttered, "It's so pretty…"

"It's so quaint here," Mileina said, "It's like walking into a history book."

"I wonder if Lockon has any living family members," Sumeragi asked.

"He told me once that his parents and little sister were killed by terrorists," Feldt said.

"We should get some rest," Sumeragi said, "We have to be up early tomorrow and after the funeral we're heading right back."

"Okay," The two girls responded.

* * *

The funeral was short and quiet. It was more of a memorial service than a funeral. They were the only ones there except for an old priest who gave the service in a sort of Celtic language that none of them could understand. However they could all agree that it was a very nice little service none the less.

"That was very nice," Linda said when the service was over, "It might not have been very much but it was perfect."

"I agree," Feldt said, "Although, it's a good thing Tieria couldn't attend…I don't think he would have been able to handle this…"

"We can bring him here once he wakes up," Linda said, "When we feel he's ready."

"We should get going," Sumeragi said softly, "We need to get back to Krung Thep." She hated cemeteries. It wasn't the thought of the ghost and spirits that may have remained there after death that she feared. She feared death itself. Death was absolute. There was no coming back from death. And death always seemed to rob them of comrades, friends and family members much too soon for her liking.

She knew that if Tieria recovered, the severely crippled organization would be revived. Tieria would diligently work towards restoring the organization to its prime, no, not its prime. Without Lockon Stratos, Celestial Being would never reach its prime again. However if Tieria did not recover from his injuries, it would be the death of the organization. If Tieria died she wouldn't have the will power to continue. Without Tieria, there was no hope for Celestial Being. Sure, they had four of the original five GN-Drives and the Gundams could be rebuilt however there would be no one to pilot the Gundams. And without Veda, she would not have been able to replace the four Meisters. Without Tieria, she had no one she could hand Celestial Being over to.

"Is everything alright?" Linda asked as they walked back to the cars they had rented for the day.

"I just wondering what will happen if…if…if _he_ doesn't wake up…" She muttered, "What would we do…we would have to replace all of them…"

"Don't think like that Sumeragi," Linda said, "Tieria-kun will be fine. His right arm, shoulder and collarbone and the fractured ribs he had on his left side have healed. There's no longer any damage from the concussion he sustained. And his ribcage only needs about four and half more weeks to completely regenerate. Tieria-kun is making great progress. Don't worry, Sumeragi everything will be fine."

Linda sighed. Sumeragi still couldn't come to terms with what had happened. She still believed that Setsuna and Allelujah were dead. She believed that Tieria's injuries were still life-threatening. Linda knew that Sumeragi had gotten attached to the four Meisters and with one dead, two missing and one in intensive care she was extremely stressed. She knew that Sumeragi was concerned about Tieria's condition but she seemed to be distancing herself from the boy in case he didn't wake up.

Linda knew that this was Sumeragi's way of coping with everything without the use of alcohol. Krung Thep didn't normally supply alcohol the way the Ptolemaios did. They only kept a small supply of beer at Lagrange three and Sumeragi had gone through all of it in not even a week.

"Ian," Linda said, "Do you think they would mind if we postponed our departure a bit?"

"I don't think so," Ian said, "We would be getting back to space a bit late for the girls but I don't think it will be a problem. Why?"

"I want to take Sumeragi out for a drink," Linda said, "I'm sure you can find a mall to take the girls to for a few hours."

"Okay," Ian said, "I'll call Wang Liu Mei and tell her about the change in plans. Should we meet at the airport in about two hours then?"

"That sounds good," Linda said as she entered the car Sumeragi had gotten in, "There's a slight change in plans."

"What do you mean?" Sumeragi asked.

"I think you need a nice stiff drink right now," Linda said, "Perhaps that will make you feel better."

Sumeragi nodded and Linda drove off to find a small bar somewhere.

* * *

The bar the two women went to was small and moderately crowded.

"What would you two lovely ladies like?" The bartender asked in a heavy Irish accent.

"Just a water for me," Linda said.

"I'll have a beer," Sumeragi said.

"Comin' right up," The man said. He gave the two women what they wanted then Sumeragi and Linda sat at an almost secluded table

"You don't want something stronger?" Linda asked.

"Irish beer is a lot stronger than the stuff I've been drinking," Sumeragi said, "It'll do."

"I see," Linda said, "You've been under a lot of stress lately haven't you?"

"You know how it's been," Sumeragi said, "With two missing and one fighting for his life…I don't think I can do it anymore…"

"Do what?" Linda asked.

"I don't think I can stay," Sumeragi said, "I joined thinking that I could put a stop to the pain and suffering that war brings…but it only brought about more pain and suffering…Those young men trusted me with their lives…they trusted my mission plans and I let them down…I couldn't save Lockon, Allelujah is in the hands of the enemy and we can't rescue him, the mission I had provided Setsuna with couldn't bring him back to us and…if…if I had kept _him_ on the Ptolemaios…he'd be okay…"

"Sumeragi," Linda said, "What happened to Tieria-kun wasn't your fault. You saw the mission recorder, that particle beam left Nadleeh half-destroyed. You had nothing to do with that."

"I allowed _him _to sortie ill and injured," Sumeragi said, "He had two broken ribs from the previous battle…sixteen hours before the battle he willing underwent medical treatment for a fever. He wasn't in any condition to sortie! And I allowed him to!"

Linda sighed, "I heard from Ian that Tieria-kun was the one who asked you for your mission plan," She said, "I also heard from Ian that Tieria-kun spent most of the time before the battle sleeping. He's a very smart boy. Tieria-kun wouldn't have asked to sortie if he wasn't feeling well enough to do so."

Sumeragi nodded slightly and took a drink.

"Tieria-kun knows his limits," Linda said, "He underwent medical treatment because he wanted to fight. Tieria-kun's medical records also stated that despite the injury, he was cleared to pilot."

"That's what Moreno-san told me," Sumeragi said, "He said that _he _was clear to pilot…if he wasn't, Nadleeh's launch sequence would have been locked…but still…he was in no condition to be out there…"

Linda sighed, "Virtue's container was completely destroyed," She said, "If you had prevented Tieria-kun from fighting we would have lost Nadleeh's GN-Drive. The damage from not letting Tieria-kun sortie would have been much worse than what had happened."

"I didn't think of that…" Sumeragi said, "I didn't think that if Nadleeh remained on the Ptolemaios that we would have lost that GN-Drive…"

"Tieria-kun might be not be undergoing medical treatment but we would be down a GN-Drive," Linda said, "We wouldn't be able to develop the Twin-Drive system that Aeolia envisioned. Please don't take this the wrong way but even though Tieria-kun was severely injured during the battle, losing Nadleeh's GN-Drive would have been much more devastating. Tieria-kun's injuries will heal in a few months' time but it took forty years to produce the five we have…we can afford to wait several months for Tieria-kun to recover, we don't have forty years to rebuild a GN-Drive."

Sumeragi nodded. Everything was coming into place. She now understood why Tieria wanted to sortie so badly. He probably knew that, despite the poor condition his body had been in when he went to sortie, the consequences of sitting the battle out would have been much more severe. She now understood why Tieria sought medical attention despite how much he hating undergoing treatment. /He really _did_ care…/ She thought, /He didn't want to cause a more severe outcome…that's why he pushed himself so hard…he was willing to sacrifice himself to ensure the safety of the GN-Drive…/

"_He_ did always say that everything happens for a reason…" She muttered, "_He _didn't believe in coincidence…to him, there was no such thing as coincidence, only necessities disguised as coincidences…"

"Who?" Linda asked as Sumeragi finished her beer, "Tieria-kun?"

"Yeah," Sumeragi said as she stood up. She wasn't sure if it was the strong liquor in her system or the talk she had had with Linda, but for whatever reason she felt much better. "Thank you Linda. After what happened I really needed this. I think now I can come to terms with what happened and make sure it doesn't happen again."

"I'm glad I was able to help," Linda said, "Anytime you need to talk to someone don't be afraid to come to me."

"Okay," Sumeragi said.

"We should head to the airport now," Linda said, "It's quite a drive and I'm sure the others are waiting for us."

Sumeragi nodded. She still wasn't sure if she was going to leave the organization or not but she now knew that she was going to wait until Tieria woke up to make that decision. When he was feeling well enough, she would talk things over with him and get his views on the situation. She already knew that he was going to want to rebuild the organization but she wanted to see how he would do so. If he seemed to be doing well on his own she would leave things to him. However, Tieria was a Meister, if she left he would have to both pilot a Gundam and make the strategic decisions. There was no doubt in her mind that the boy would be able to handle the two jobs with ease. Somehow, things were going to be alright.

* * *

A lot happened in that didn't it? There were a lot of little time jumps but if I don't do that sort of thing, this fic is never going to end…and I already have one fic that's doing that, I don't need two. Even four weeks after the battle Sumeragi blames herself for everything and she doesn't seem to want to use Tieria's name. The next chapter will probably have a several week time-skip, I just don't have enough ideas to not do that. So until next time! Ja ne Minna-san!

_Ex-Shark-V-005_


	9. Coming Around

Konnichiwa Minna-san! I'm back and it only took about two weeks to update this time! I don't have much to say about this aside from I think it jumped forward about four weeks or so twice in this chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I, Ex-Shark-Virtue-005, do not own Gundam 00 or the characters, Veda's just granting me permission to have fun with them for a while.

Happy Reading!

* * *

Chapter Nine: Coming Around

It had been nearly eight weeks since the disastrous battle that had severely crippled Celestial Being and Setsuna was finally able to get up and walk around as he wished.

"Oh hello there," Linsae greeted, "You're looking well today Setsuna-kun. I think you're finally ready to be discharged. What will you do afterwards? Will you try to find your comrades?"

"No," Setsuna responded, "There's no need for that yet. I just want to observe the world for a while."

"Oh…" Linsae said, "What about your mobile suit?"

"My Gundam is operational," Setsuna responded, "I've been working on it in the time I've been allowed out of bed."

"That's good," Linsae said, "I'll probably release you late next week, just to be safe. But until then, you're free to roam around the ship as you please."

"Thank you," Setsuna said, "It gives me time to finish the repairs."

"Don't forget to eat and drink," Linsae said, "And make sure to rest."

"I will," Setsuna said.

* * *

Feldt sighed as she sat in a private room in the medical bay. The treatment for Tieria's injuries had ended and while there were no anomalies, Tieria hadn't woken up. Linda and Autum had both said that they weren't expecting Tieria to wake up when the treatment was over.

"Give it some time," Autum said, "After what his body went through, I'm not surprised he didn't wake up."

"I know he'll wake up someday," Feldt said, "It's just hard to see Tieria in such a condition…he's always been so strong."

"You've know Tieria for a while haven't you?" Autum said as she ran a quick check up on the boy.

"Since I was eight or nine," Feldt said, "I was kind of intimidated by him the first time I met him…The first thing I had ever heard him say was "What is a child doing here? This is no place for children." But at the time I was too young to realize that he was just worried about my well being…Tieria's a very kind person, he just doesn't know how to display that kindness…"

"He's really lucky he has such caring people looking out for him," Autum said, "He needs that more than anything. He lost a lot in the past few months. He lost his one of his closest friends and two of his other close friends are missing. And he was the one who could directly link with Veda right?"

"Yeah," Feldt said, "He lost Veda too…"

"He's going to have it rough when he wakes up," Autum said, "So I'm counting on you to be there for him okay?"

"Don't worry," Feldt said, "I'll be there for him."

"Based on his brainwaves, he seems to be dreaming," Autum said, "I wonder what he's dreaming about…"

"Who knows," Feldt said, "I just hope they're pleasant dreams."

_

* * *

Tieria heard something peculiar one day as he wandered around the corridors of his new home. He had only arrived at Krung Thep about a week ago and he was still trying to find his way around the massive base. As he wandered around a wing that he had only recently discovered he could have sworn he heard what sounded like children. He opened the door the voices were resonating from and what he saw shocked him. One of the mechanics, Linda Vashti, was playing with two young girls one of which seemed to be no older than four._

"_Ah, Tieria-kun," Linda greeted, "I see you found the nursery."_

"_Nursery?" Tieria asked, "There are children on this base?"_

"_There are only two children on this base," Linda said, "My daughter Mileina," She picked up a small child with wavy light brown hair and wide lilac eyes, "And this," She said indicating an older girl probably about eight or nine years old. She had bright turquoise eyes and bubblegum pink hair, "Is Feldt Grace."_

"_Why are there children here?" Tieria asked sternly, "This base is no place for children."_

_Linda sighed and put Mileina down, "Feldt-chan," She said, "Will you play with Mileina while I talk to Tieria-kun?" The pink haired girl nodded and Linda led Tieria from the room and shut the door, "To answer your question both girls were born into the organization. Mileina is my daughter and Ian Vashti is her father. I gave birth to Mileina while on this base and neither Ian nor myself have any family we can send her to."_

"_I can understand that instance," Tieria said, "But what about the older girl? What is her story?"_

"_Feldt's parents were second generation Gundam Meisters, Ruido Resonance and Marlene Vlady and like my daughter she was born here," Linda said quietly, "Feldt was only two when her parents were killed…And after that incident the first generation Meister proposed that we kill Feldt through lethal injection. However Veda proposed that the child be brought up as a member of Celestial Being. She is currently attending school here and is learning to become a tactical operator."_

"_I see," Tieria said._

"_Killing Feldt was out of the question," Linda said, "It would not have been right to do that to a two year old."_

"_I understand that," Tieria said, "What about your daughter?"_

"_When she's old enough she will be trained as a mechanic," Linda said, "She will work alongside my husband and I."_

_Tieria nodded and opened the door to the nursery._

"_Mama!" Mileina yelled as she ran towards her mother and embraced her legs tightly. She looked up at Tieria "Who are you?"_

"_My name is Tieria Erde," He said as he knelt to the child's level._

"_Hiya!" Mileina called as she stuck her small hand out to Tieria, "I'm Mileina! It's nice to meet you!"_

_Tieria cautiously took the young girl's hand and the child giggled, "Is something wrong?" He asked._

"_Nope," Mileina said, "I'm just wondering how you got your hair that color. It's very pretty." She then pulled Tieria's glasses from his face and put them on, "Heh, heh, just like mama and papa! Everything's all fuzzy!"_

"_Mileina, give those back to Tieria-kun right now," Linda scolded as Tieria tried to figure out how the girl had snatched his glasses from him so quickly, "I'm sorry Tieria-kun."_

"_It's alright," Tieria said as he took his glasses back from the girl._

"_Mileina, what do you say to Tieria-kun?" Linda asked._

"_I'm sorry T-eria-niichan," Mileina said almost reluctantly as she kicked the ground with her small foot._

"_It's alright," He said as he wiped his glasses with his sleeve. "I should get going. I'll see you around."_

"_Alright," Linda said, "I'll talk to you later."_

"_Stop by again T-eria-niichan!" Mileina called out as she waved furiously._

"_It was nice meeting you," Feldt said quietly._

_

* * *

Tieria watched in shock as Physical Virtue's beam cannon fired at the Rasiel at full power, something that the limiter was supposed to be preventing. He then watched in horror as the GN-Sefer dove into the line of fire preventing the beam from hitting the Rasiel. _

"_Hixar!" He screamed as the GN-Sefer exploded in flames._

"Tieria," _Grave called through the line, _"We're abandoning this training mission. Return to the base for now."

"_I understand," Tieria said as he silently hoped for Hixar Fermi's safety._

_After Tieria returned to Krung Thep he immediately headed to the small terminal that was connected to Veda and he questioned Hixar's condition. He also questioned as to why Physical Virtue had been at full power. And what he discovered left him mortified, somehow, despite being adjusted right before the battle, the limiter had broken. He made a quick mental note to ask Ian Vashti about the incident and if the mechanic had any ideas as to how it could have happened._

_He then closed his link the Veda and returned to his room to file a report on the training mission._

* * *

Feldt sighed as she watched Tieria. He was probably still dreaming however, she wondered if it was in fact possible for a person in a coma to dream. She wondered what he was dreaming about. At one point his face had contorted into such a look of pain she nearly cried. She knew that Tieria had no way of escaping from such dreams and all she could do was place a cool cloth on his forehead and hold his hand.

"Please, let the dreams pass," She muttered quietly, "Don't make him suffer any more than he already is…Come on Tieria, stay strong…"

* * *

"_Tieria?" A familiar voice called out to him, "What are you doing here?"_

"_Lockon!" Tieria cried as he ran towards the man._

"_You don't belong here Tieria," Lockon said, "You may not know it but you're still alive."_

"_Then why are you here with me?" Tieria asked the taller man._

"_That's what I'm trying to figure out," Lockon said, "You're keeping yourself from waking up aren't you?"_

"_I don't want to wake up," Tieria said, "I want to stay here with you."_

"_I know you do," Lockon said, "But you just can't. You're still alive Tieria and I'm not. We're not supposed to be in the same place."_

"_But we are!" Tieria cried out._

"_Something about this isn't right Tieria," Lockon said, "You can't stay here. You need to wake up."_

"_I don't want to!" Tieria cried._

"_So you're just going to throw the plan out the window then?" Lockon said, "If you decide to let yourself die everything we worked for will go to waste. The world will never be rid of war if you don't wake up. Do you want that? Every grueling hour we spent training, every mission, everything we worked towards, the Gundams, changing the world for the better…that will all go to waste. Do you really want that? I would think that someone who would put the plan before their own life and the lives of others would want to prevent that from happening." _

"_But…"_

"_Were you not willing to kill Setsuna for the sake of the plan?" Lockon asked bitterly, "And here I was thinking that you wouldn't just let yourself die because the plan is still in motion…you've disappointed me Tieria Erde, you really have."_

"_Lockon!" Tieria screamed as the apparition of the man faded from his view._

"_Maybe I'll talk to you again after you've decided to go back to living your life, without me and without Veda."_

"_Lockon Stratos!"_

* * *

Feldt sighed as she watched Tieria. She was beginning to give up hope. Tieria had been moved from the capsule about a month before and yet he had yet to return to consciousness.

"You should get some rest Feldt-chan," Autum said as she walked over to the pink haired girl, "Tieria will be just fine if you're not watching over him and I don't think he's going to wake up tonight."

"I want to be here when he wake," Feldt said, "I promised him that I would be here when he woke up…and plan to do just that…"

"You're a strong girl Feldt-chan," Autum said, "Don't worry I have a feeling that Tieria will wake up soon. He's had more brain activity in the past two days or so than he's had in the past month."

"He's been dreaming," Feldt said, "I can see it on his face. Sometimes they're pleasant dreams and other times they're troubling. I can tell just by the look on his face."

"Alright," Autum said, "Don't forget to call me if something happens. Haro is in the office if you need him."

"Okay," Feldt said as the older girl walked from the room. She then sighed as she looked over at Tieria. He was still on life support however the medical staff had decided that aside from being unable to get the nutrients it needed, Tieria's body was functioning well. And as of right now, he was just on an IV drip supplying his body with the nutrients it needed.

Feldt took Tieria's hand in her own, "Please wake up…Tieria…" she muttered.

_

* * *

Everything was a blur. Everything had been a blur since he had sent his solar reactor back to the Ptolemaios. How long had he been out? Was he still drifting aimlessly through space? Had he been rescued? He was still trapped in his unconsciousness. He wanted to wake up but something wasn't letting him do so. If he woke up he would have to come to terms with the fact that…_

"_Oi Tieria…what are you still doing here?"_

"_L-Lockon…" …was dead._

"_What did I tell you before?" Lockon asked, "You don't belong here Tieria."_

"_But…"_

"_No buts Tieria, you still have your life to live."_

"Tieria…please, wake up…"

"_Go back to where you belong Tieria. You can't stay here."_

"_No! Lockon!" Tieria screamed as everything faded from view._

"Go live your life, Tieria Erde…"

* * *

"No Lockon…" Tieria whispered as he finally returned to consciousness. He found himself lying in a bed in a medical room. /How long have I been here…?/ He thought tiredly. Everything was still just a blur and his body felt extremely heavy. He looked around the room and through blurry vision found Feldt asleep in the bed beside the one that he was in.

"Feldt…" He called out his voice barely a whisper, "Feldt…Grace…" He hoped that his feeble attempt to speak would be enough to wake the girl.

* * *

Feldt was dragged from her sleep from a sound she couldn't quite place. She opened her eyes and found a pair of groggy garnet eyes staring back at her.

"Tieria…" Feldt gasped as her eyes filled with tears, "You're awake! I'm so glad!"

"Feldt…" Tieria whispered.

"You have no idea how worried everyone has been," She said, "Everyone is going to be so relieved."

"How long…?" Tieria asked.

"You've been unconscious for three months," Feldt said, "We were starting to think that you weren't going to wake up."

"Three…months…?" Tieria asked as it hit him. His eyes widened "The Gundams!" He gasped as he tried to sit up and soon found that his body wasn't ready for such sudden movements and he lost consciousness again.

Feldt nearly cried when she saw Tieria fall back against the pillows, his garnet eyes closed, "Tieria!" She cried out, /No…/ She thought when she realized that Tieria was once again unconsciousness, /He just woke up too!/

"Feldt-chan!" Autum cried as she ran into the room in her pajamas and a bath robe. She had just changed for bed when she heard Feldt scream, "What's wrong?"

"Tieria just woke up…" Feldt cried, "But…he tried to sit up and…he's unconscious again…"

"It's okay Feldt-chan," Autum said, "He just wasn't ready to sit up just yet. Will you go get my sister?"

"Okay…" Feldt said as she wiped the tears from her eyes and left the room.

Autum sighed as she checked Tieria's status. Everything was finally back where it was supposed to be. His brainwaves were normal, his breathing, while a bit labored, was normal and his blood pressure was finally starting to pick again as Tieria returned to consciousness, "Tieria…" She called softly as he started to stir.

"Has it really been three months…?" Tieria whispered without opening his eyes.

"Yeah," Autum said, "I can't tell you how much of a relief it is to see you awake."

Tieria opened his eyes and found himself face to face with a teenager he didn't recognize, "Who are you?"

"My name is Autum Kujou," she said, "I've been taking care of you for the past three months. My sister is going to be so happy to see you awake."

"Your sister…?"

"Sumeragi is my biological older sister," Autum said.

"Ah…"

"Take it easy for now," Autum said, "The others should be arriving shortly."

* * *

Sumeragi was just about to go to bed when there was a knock at her door. She got up out of bed and opened the door, "Feldt," She said, "What is it?"

"Autum-san wants you," Feldt said softly, "Tieria woke up."

Sumeragi gasped, "Tieria's…awake…?" She asked. Feldt nodded, "Oh thank god!"

Tieria was awake and propped up a bit by a few pillows when Sumeragi and Feldt entered the medical room.

"Tieria!" Sumeragi exclaimed softly, "You have no idea how happy I am to see you awake."

"Sumeragi…the Gundams…" Tieria whispered.

"Don't worry about that now," Sumeragi said, "We'll discuss things when you're feeling better. For now, just get some rest." She turned to her sister, "How does it look?"

"He still needs time," Autum said, "The bones he broke have healed nicely but I'm worried about his lungs and the after affects of the head injury he sustained. The scanners are indicating that his right lung still isn't functioning to capacity. And right now his body is far too weak to check for any problems with his motor skills that may have been caused by the head injury."

"What do you mean?" Sumeragi asked as she ran her fingers through Tieria's hair, "His right lung isn't functioning to capacity?"

"I don't think it's anything bad," Autum said, "You have to remember that his lung was injured pretty badly. And while we could immobilize his arm and parts of his ribcage, his lung could not be immobilized. It'll still need quite a bit of time to heal."

"How long will it take?" Tieria asked softly.

"Four to five months if you rest," Autum said.

"That's too long…" Tieria muttered. His voice was starting to come back but his throat was terribly dry, "Could I have some water?"

"Sure," Autum said, "Feldt-chan, will you get Tieria-san some water to drink?" The pink haired girl nodded and headed towards the office. Autum then turned to Tieria, "You need to let your body heal," She said, "If you don't give your lungs enough time to heal the damage will become permanent and you'll have to forfeit your position as a Meister."

Tieria sighed as Feldt reentered the room holding a small cup of water with a straw, "Thank you Feldt…" He muttered as she held it up to him so he could take a drink.

"You're welcome," She said, "Just let me know if you want anymore."

Tieria nodded, "Four to five months…" He muttered as he shut his eyes.

"There's not that much to do right now," Sumeragi said, "You have plenty of time to rest."

"Where are Allelujah and Setsuna?" Tieria asked. He was starting to get really tired but he needed to know this.

Sumeragi sighed and turned to her sister.

"The sooner he finds out the better," Autum mouthed.

Sumeragi sighed, "Tieria…Allelujah was captured and Setsuna is missing." She said.

Tieria's eyes snapped open, "Ma-masaka…" He gasped, "I'm…the only one…"

"We'll find them," Sumeragi said, "For now just rest."

Tieria sighed and shut his eyes again.

"Tieria's awake! Tieria's awake!" Haro chanted as it floated into the room, "Ohayo! Ohayo! Tieria's awake! Tieria's awake!"

"Haro…" Tieria muttered as he beckoned the small robot over to him.

"Nani? Nani?" Haro asked as it floated up to Tieria.

Tieria embraced the small robot turned on his side and cried, "Lockon…I'm so sorry…Lockon…"

"Tieria gomen….Tieria gomen…"

Sumeragi put her hand on Tieria's shoulder, "It's alright Tieria," She said softly, "If you want to talk to someone don't hesitate to do so. We're all here for you, don't you ever forget that."

Autum sighed, "You need to rest Tieria-san," She said, "You've gone through a lot and now you need to regain your strength."

"I'm sorry," Tieria muttered as he released Haro and stopped crying.

"It's alright," Sumeragi said as she ran her fingers through Tieria's hair again, "You have every right to be upset." Tieria nodded as Sumeragi gently removed the extra pillows that were propping the boy up so he could lie down again, "You should get some sleep now. Your body still needs a lot of rest to recover."

Tieria nodded again and shut his eyes again. After a few minutes he had slipped into a very deep sleep.

"Don't be alarmed if he sleeps for another week or so," Autum said.

"What do you mean?" Sumeragi asked.

"His body is still very weak," Autum said, "Even though he's been unconscious for three months his body has been working to repair itself. Now his body needs to rest. It's done repairing itself so now he needs time to regain his strength."

"I understand," Sumeragi said as she yawned.

"Well I think we've all had enough excitement for one night," Autum said, "Off to bed both of you."

"But…"

"I know you're still worried about him Feldt-chan," Autum said, "But you've already fulfilled your promise to him so you should get some sleep in your own room tonight. Don't worry Haro's here to watch out for Tieria-san," She turned to the small robot, "Isn't that right Haro?"

"I'll watch him! I'll watch him!" Haro chanted, "Get some sleep Feldt! Get some sleep Feldt!"

Feldt sighed and nodded, "I'm counting on you to watch out for him Haro," She said.

"Ryoukai! Ryoukai!" Haro chanted, "You can count on me! You can count on me!"

Sumeragi smiled a bit as she made her way back to her room. Things were finally taking a turn in the right direction. /Things are going to get better/ She told herself, /Tieria woke up…/

* * *

Yay! Finally after three long months (and almost six chapters) Tieria woke up! What will that mean for Celestial Being? And what about poor Tieria's condition since it's me you probably figure that odds are, he's not out of the woods yet. Will that be the case here? And I do believe it is possible for a person in a coma to dream…I just don't remember where I heard that, but whatever. The part with Tieria meeting Feldt and Mileina was just a cute little thing I came up with. The part with Hixar Fermi, Grave Violento, and the Physical Virtue is from one of the side stories Gundam 00P.

To make a long story short, someone (Beside Pain (a Ribbons type Innovade)) used Veda to sabotage the Physical Virtue to try and kill Grave Violento but Hixar Fermi (an Innovade) got in the way, nearly killing himself. After the incident Tieria inquired about Hixar's condition and Grave (also an Innovade and a scout for Celestial Being) approved Veda's selection of Tieria as Meister. So, until next time! Ja ne Minna-san!

_Ex-Shark-V-005_


	10. An Unexpected Turn

Konnichiwa Minna-san! It took me a little while to write this but it happens right? I mean I do try to update as quickly as possible with nine other active stories. I can be a bit of a challenge sometimes…but whatever. I don't have much to say about this chapter so after the disclaimer you can enjoy!

Disclaimer: I, Ex-Shark-Virtue-005, do not own Gundam 00 or the characters, Veda's just granting me permission to have fun with them for a while.

Happy Reading!

* * *

Chapter Ten: An Unexpected Turn

Ian sighed as he stood in the medical room. It had been about three days since Tieria had returned to consciousness but he had been so busy with the development of the new Gundams that this was the first time he had been to visit since. However unlike the last several times he had been here, Ian could tell that Tieria was just asleep and not comatose. Tieria leaning to his left side a bit and every so often he would shift or moan in his sleep.

"You better be able to pilot kid," Ian said softly, "We'll be in a tough spot if you can't."

"He'll be able to pilot again," Autum said as she entered the room with Linda, "Granted, he won't be able to do anything physically strenuous for about five months. But I think after that time, he'll definitely be clear to pilot."

"Tieria's on restricted physical activity for five months?" Ian asked.

"Yeah," Autum said, "His right lung hasn't healed completely yet and his oxygen levels are still lower than they should be."

"He's still having trouble breathing?" Ian asked.

"Yeah," Autum said, "It's gotten a bit better since he last woke up but it's still not right."

Ian nodded, "What about the head injury?" he asked softly, "Is there any lasting damage from that?"

Autum sighed, "We don't know yet," she said, "He was far too weak to check for that when he woke up. I guess is that we won't know about any lasting damage for a few weeks. The rest of the medical team is concerned that he may suffer from seizures. If that's the case here…he'll never pilot again. However if he just suffers from headaches for a while then there's a good chance that he'll be back in a Gundam in no time."

"What are the chances of Tieria becoming epileptic from this?" Ian asked gravely. They would not be in a favorable position if their only remaining pilot was forced to forfeit his Meister status. It was bad enough that at the moment they would have to possibly find replacements for three of their pilots. It would destroy them if they would have to replace all four Meisters.

"They're extremely minute," Autum said, "But we have to give you every possible outcome. Honestly, I don't think he'll suffer from seizures. We've been monitoring his brainwaves carefully and everything seems to be in order. If anything, he'll suffer from frequent headaches for a while."

"How much longer is he going to be asleep for?" Ian asked.

"I'm not sure," Autum said, "It's hard to estimate exactly when he'll wake up. We're guessing that it'll be a few more days at the most though."

"But he's out of the woods for the most part now right?" Ian said, "He's not in any danger anymore, right?"

"That's right," Autum said, "He's going to be fine. He just needs a while to recuperate."

"That's great," Ian said, "Let me know when he wakes up again."

* * *

"Autum," Sumeragi said as she glanced at Tieria a few days later, "How's he doing?"

"The same as yesterday," Autum said, "He hasn't changed much in the past week and he still sound asleep."

"That's okay right?" Sumeragi asked.

"It's fine," Autum said, "You need to remember that he was in a coma for three months due to almost life threatening injuries. His body is exhausted from repairing itself."

"How is his breathing?" Sumeragi asked.

"He's still having some trouble," Autum said, "And I think he's going to continue to have trouble breathing for a while. The medical team has already developed a medication for him to take if it becomes a problem. The standard asthma medication is on the list of medications he can't have. As of right now his breathing still isn't right but it's getting better."

"That's good," Sumeragi said as there was a soft moan.

"Tieria!" Feldt exclaimed softly, "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Feldt…" Tieria muttered.

"Good morning Tieria-san," Autum greeted, "Or rather good afternoon. Can you sit up for me? I need to run a quick check-up."

Tieria nodded as he slowly sat up. His body was heavy and his muscles were weak and stiff from not moving in so long. His head also felt strangely heavy and it was almost as if he was experiencing the after effects of a severe migraine.

"Prop him up," Autum said after Tieria managed to sit up a little bit, "He's weak. He's not going to be able to sit up for long periods of time just yet."

"Thank you," Tieria muttered as he rested against the pillows Sumeragi put behind him.

"Alright," Autum said, "First off, are you in pain anywhere?"

"My head hurts a bit," Tieria said. He was starting to wake up a bit more and it was getting a little easier to think, "But other than that I'm not really in pain. My body is just really stiff and rather weak."

"That's good," Autum said, "I didn't think you would be in much pain. But I'm worried about your breathing. Could you remove your shirt for me?"

Tieria nodded and started to fumble with the buttons on the shirt he was wearing. For whatever reason his fingers weren't responding to him the way he wanted them to and he couldn't undo the buttons.

"As I thought," Autum said as she helped Tieria unbutton his shirt, "Your fine motor skills were affected. With a little bit of physical therapy we should be able to reverse that." She placed a stethoscope to Tieria's chest, "Could you take a deep breath for me?" Tieria did what he was told, "Hmm, yeah you're not reaching the top of your breath at all. Are you short of breath?"

"A little bit," Tieria said as he caught a glance of the scar on the right side of his chest, "Just…what happened to me…?"

Autum sighed. "For one, you nearly died," she said. There was no longer any reason to hide the truth from Feldt or Sumeragi, now that Tieria was awake, "You broke every rib on your right side, your right shoulder blade, collar bone and your right arm in two places. You suffered a major concussion and extensive internal injuries. Then during a surgery to remove the bone fragments from your right lung, we had to resuscitate you twice. We had to keep you on a respirator for three weeks because you couldn't breathe much on your own."

"You never told me that he had to be brought back to life twice during the surgery!" Sumeragi exclaimed, "Or that he couldn't breathe on his own."

"There was no way I was going to tell you that," Autum said, "You had enough to worry about at that time. I wasn't going to add to it." She turned to Tieria, "Do you now understand why you still need another four to five months to recover?"

Tieria sighed and closed his eyes, "Will I be able to pilot?" He asked.

"We're not sure yet," Autum said, "We'll know in the next few weeks. But as of now, you are not clear to pilot."

Tieria sighed again and turned to Sumeragi, "What is our situation?" he asked.

"Ptolemy was destroyed," Sumeragi said, "Christina, Lichty, and Doctor Moreno were killed. We have four of the five GN-Drives…Exia's is missing. Nadleeh's GN-Drive was damaged but it was repairable. Don't worry, the four GN-Drives we have work."

Tieria nodded as Autum continued her check up, "Tieria-san," she said, "Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

"When will I be able to leave the medical room?" He asked.

"Not for a while," Autum said, "You're still on observation. We can't discharge you yet. This is only the second time you've been conscious in three months. I know you hate it here but if some sort of complication comes up we'll be able to act quicker if you're here."

"I hate it here," He muttered.

Autum sighed, "I know you hate it here," she said, "But you need to stay. If we discharge you and you have a seizure or you start having trouble breathing, we may not be able to get to you in time."

Tieria's eyes widened at the word seizure, "What do you mean by seizure?" He asked. He knew that if he was possibly epileptic he would he stripped of his Meister status.

"It's just a minute possibility," Autum said, "You suffered a severe head injury. But I honestly don't think we'll have to worry about that."

"When will I be able to eat?" He asked. He knew that he hadn't eaten anything since before the battle that nearly killed him and he was rather hungry.

Autum sighed, "Probably tomorrow," She said, "We still have you on an IV drip today. Why? Are you hungry?"

"Yeah," Tieria responded.

"Hold on," Autum said, "I'll go and see what the head medic wants to do."

Tieria nodded and turned to Sumeragi, "Are we rebuilding the Gundams?" he asked.

"HA!" Ian shouted as he entered the room, "You owe me money now Sumeragi! I _told _you he would ask that question!"

"When did we bet on it?" Sumeragi asked, "I don't recall betting with you!"

"We shook on it the other day remember?" Ian asked, "Or were you too drunk to remember? Feldt and Mileina were there!"

"Did we shake on it?" Sumeragi asked Feldt as Tieria just sat there and tried to figure out just what was going on.

"Yes," Feldt said, "Both of you were drunk. Mileina and I were asked to be the witnesses."

"Dammit," Sumeragi swore, "How much was the bet for?"

"Ten thousand yen or one hundred American dollars," Ian said proudly, "Pay up!"

"Ten thousand yen!" Sumeragi exclaimed.

"Yup!" Ian said, "Now pay up!"

Tieria sighed, "Some things will never change," he said, "Perhaps you should refrain from getting into arguments when you've had too much to drink Sumeragi Li Noriega."

"I guess you're right," Sumeragi said.

"How are you doing kid?" Ian asked, "It's good to finally see you awake. And to answer your question, yes we are rebuilding the Gundams. Once we get the blueprints done on your Gundams we'll start building."

"I thought the blueprints for Virtue and Nadleeh's successors were already complete," Tieria said.

Ian sighed, "I didn't like what happened to you during that last battle," He said, "Virtue and Nadleeh had too many flaws and weak points. So we scrapped the completed blueprints and we're going to start from scratch. Although we have a design in mind that might just work. I know you helped design the plans we scrapped so, you'll have a say in what your next mobile suit will look like. I'm guessing you still want a heavily armed type?"

"What about the others?" Tieria asked as he nodded.

"We're sticking to the plans we have," Ian said, "We're going to prioritize your Gundam and the Twin-drive system before we start the other two."

Tieria nodded as Autum entered the room followed by Krung Thep's head medic, "Ah Tieria Erde," The woman said as she leafed through Tieria's charts, "It's good to see you awake. Things have been very touch and go with you in the past few months but it looks like you're almost in the clear."

"I want to know if I'll suffer any ill effects of the injuries I sustained," Tieria said, "Autum mentioned something about seizures. I want to know what that's all about."

The woman nodded and brought up the data from the medical scanner they had him hooked up to, "You suffered from a head injury three months ago," The woman said, "However it wasn't as severe as we originally thought it was. The injury healed much better than we thought it would. As you know, we have to give you every possible side effect even if there's almost no chance of it happening." Tieria nodded, "If you do suffer from any ill effects it will be with your breathing. It's very possible that you will suffer from asthma-like attacks for a while."

"Is that why I'm still on observation?" Tieria asked.

"Yes," The woman responded, "When your ribs were broken a few of them punctured your right lung. And while it's been three months, your lung hasn't fully healed yet. Your right lung had almost completely shut down and you couldn't breathe very well on your own for nearly a month."

"I really broke every rib on my right side?" Tieria asked.

"Yes," The woman said, "And at least three of them shattered. We had to regenerate the entire right side of your rib cage. You got seriously lucky though, you wouldn't have fared well if it had been your left side. It was a miracle that the two previously broken ribs you had didn't break more."

Tieria sighed and closed his eyes, "When will I be allowed to leave?" He asked.

"We're not sure yet," The woman said, "In a few days we'll start the rehabilitation and physical therapy. And we'll probably go from there. Autum mentioned that you were hungry. Do you want a little something to eat?"

"Yes please," Tieria said.

"Okay," The woman said, "I'll go get you some bread."

"So…" Tieria said distantly, "I'm the only one left…"

Sumeragi sighed. She had no idea what she could say to Tieria to comfort him, "We'll find them Tieria," Sumeragi said as she placed her hand on the boy's shoulder, "But right now, there's nothing we can do. The Gundams were destroyed and you're not in any condition to even be out of bed yet. But I promise you, we will find Setsuna and Allelujah."

"I…never thought…I would regret…not having everyone around…" Tieria muttered as he tried to hold back the tears, "I really…lost everything…"

Sumeragi sighed as she watched the tears roll down the boy's pale face. She gently embraced the boy, "It's going to be okay Tieria," She said, "We may have to get new pilots if it comes to that. Just give it some time."

"NO!" Tieria yelled as he shoved Sumeragi away from him, "I DON'T WANT NEW COMRADES!"

"Tieria," Sumeragi said, "We may need to find new pilots. If we can't find Allelujah and Setsuna you're going to have to get used to new comrades."

"NO!" Tieria screamed, "WE ARE NOT GOING TO GET NEW PILOTS!"

"Then what do you expect us to do then?" Sumeragi exclaimed back, "Lockon was killed, Allelujah was captured and Setsuna disappeared. What is your plan?"

"We find them," Tieria said softly, "We'll rescue Allelujah then find Setsuna."

"And do you expect to do that with no usable Gundams?" Sumeragi asked, "Tieria, you're being unreasonable! You're going to have to accept the fact that Allelujah and Setsuna might not come back."

"I _refuse _to believe that!" Tieria yelled, "I'll get them back! I'll do whatever it takes to find them! I'll-" Tieria was then cut off by an almost paralyzing pain in his chest.

"Tieria," Sumeragi said. It was unlike Tieria to stop suddenly in the middle of a rant and the look on his face worried her, "What's wrong?"

"I…don't know…" Tieria muttered as he clutched his chest and started to gasp for breath.

"Tieria!" Sumeragi cried. Something was clearly wrong with the boy.

"…I…can't…breathe…" Tieria panted, "Sumeragi…help me…" It felt almost as if someone was pressing a pillow to his face and the pain was making it impossible to reach the top of his breath. He wasn't sure what was happening to him and for the first time in his life he was truly terrified. "Please…help..."

"Autum!" Sumeragi cried as Tieria struggled to remain conscious, "Hang in there Tieria. AUTUM!"

"What's wrong?" Autum called as she entered the room, "Oh my god!" She exclaimed as she saw the state that Tieria was in, "I need a ventilator and a nebulizer in here _now_!" She called to the medical team, "He's in trouble!"

Within seconds the entire medical team was in the room tending to Tieria. They put an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose and within minutes his breathing eased however the panic was still present on his face.

"Stand back," Autum said, "I'm going to activate the capsule so I can check his lungs." She nodded as she looked at the data. She then deactivated the capsule.

"How does it look?" The head medic asked.

"Not bad," Autum said, "There are no signs of bleeding and it looks as though the muscles are starting to relax. He's starting to calm down as well."

"That's good," The older woman said, "Keep him on the respirator for today. We'll see how he's doing tomorrow. We're not sure if there will be any side effects of the medication so monitor him closely today."

"What's going on?" Sumeragi asked, "Is he alright?"

"He's going to be fine," Autum said as she removed the oxygen mask and hooked Tieria up to a smaller respirator, "He just worked himself up too much. He's going to continue to have these asthma-like attacks for a while. But it looks like medicine is working well. His breathing is back to normal."

"Thank god," Sumeragi said, "Do you know what triggered the attack?"

"Well," Autum said, "We could hear him yelling at you from the office. I'm guessing that that has something to do with it." She turned to Tieria, "You need to stay on the respirator for the rest of the day alright. Try to get some sleep, you'll feel better." When Tieria shut his eyes she led Feldt, Ian and Sumeragi from the room, "I'm going to ask that you refrain from discussing the Gundams with him now." She said, "And please, don't mention the other Meisters, he's not ready for that yet."

Sumeragi nodded, "But what happens if he asks us about it?" She asked.

"Try to avoid the subject as much as you can," Autum said, "I know that's going to be difficult with him but do your best."

"I'm guessing working over the blueprints of the kid's new Gundam are going to have to wait as well," Ian asked.

"I'm going to have to say yes to that as well," Autum said, "Give him a few more weeks."

Ian nodded, "Now the question is how are we supposed to keep Tieria's mind off of the Gundams for a few weeks?" he asked.

"What about his books?" Feldt asked, "He likes to read."

"That's an idea," Autum said, "I'm sure he's going to spend a lot of time sleeping as well. We're going to start him on physical therapy the day after tomorrow. We're not quite sure how much he's going to need but we'll figure it out along the way."

Sumeragi nodded, "We should let him rest for the rest of the day," She said.

"That sounds good," Autum said, "I'll call you if anything else comes up."

"Thank you."

* * *

_Tieria was confused when he found himself floating in the middle of space. He looked around and tried to figure out just what he was doing until he noticed something. He was at Lagrange One, the place he nearly lost his life. He shut his eyes and tried to will himself awake but he was just too exhausted to do so. He floated around a little bit and came across a sight that disturbed him. Floating in front of him was Setsuna's horribly mangled body. The visor on the boy's blue helmet had shattered, his brown eyes empty and glossy…Setsuna was dead._

_Then not too far away he caught sight of a figure in orange. However the figure was missing the lower half of its body. Tieria floated up to it and found that the figure was Allelujah._

"_What…what is this…" What he had come across sickened him a bit._

"This would be your doing Tieria." _A haunting familiar voice called out to him, "_You went rogue and killed them."

"_I did WHAT?" Tieria asked not wanting to believe any of it, "There…there must be some sort of mistake…"_

"We were just about to defeat the federation when you snapped and killed us all," _The voice said, _"We never saw it coming. I can show you how you did it in case you forgot."

"_No…no…" Tieria gasped, "How is that possible? I…I wouldn't possibly do something like that…"_

"Well you did so I don't know what to tell you. I guess I had it lucky," _the voice said, _"I died before you went rogue. You blamed Setsuna for my death then after you killed him Allelujah tried to stop you as well and he suffered the same fate. If I had been there I would have stopped you…but I guess you did play a part in my death. Seeing that it was because of you that I was initially injured."

"_L-Lockon!" Tieria gasped as the man appeared in front of him._

"And now," _Lockon said as he drew a gun, _"I'm here to avenge all of us. Die Tieria Erde!"

_Lockon pulled the trigger and everything went black._

* * *

Tieria's garnet eyes snapped open and he bolted upright in bed.

"Tieria what's wrong? Tieria what's wrong?" Haro chanted.

"Tieria!" Autum called as she knelt beside the bed, "What's wrong? Are you having trouble breathing again? Do you feel sick? Are you in pain? Tell me what's wrong." Tieria was extremely pale and his face was slick with sweat.

"Did I…really kill them…?" Tieria asked vacantly.

"What do you mean?" Autum said as she eased Tieria against the pillows, "Who did you kill?"

"Lockon told me…that I killed…Allelujah and Setsuna…" Tieria whispered, "Is…it true…?"

Autum sighed as she placed her hand on Tieria's forehead, "It's not true," Autum said as she brushed his sweaty hair out of his eyes, "It was just a dream. Go back to sleep, the medicine gave you a bit of a fever."

Autum sighed as Tieria drifted back into the restless sleep that had been disturbed by the nightmare. She had been told that after Tieria lost his direct link to Veda he started suffering from vivid and sometimes violent nightmares. And she had a bad feeling that the nightmares were going to worsen and continue now that he had lost his comrades as well.

* * *

As usual from me, Tieria's recovery is not going to be an easy one. Poor kid…I really put him through hell and back don't I? The part where he started screaming at Sumeragi might have been a bit out of character but whatever. I need to do that every so often right? So how are the nightmares going to play into Tieria's recovery…? I'm not sure yet, I still need to work that bit out so uh…just hang tight for a while until the next chapter okay? Until next time Minna-san! Ja Ne!

_Ex-Shark-V-005_


End file.
